Direct democracy

Direct democracy will happen in Bulgaria sooner or later, President Rosen Plevneliev said in a Friday interview.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev said on Tuesday that the decision of the parliament to include only the question on electronic voting in the forthcoming referendum, did not take into full account the will of the nation to define the rules on the election of its representatives.

The Bulgarian Parliament adopted at second reading on Tuesday the amendments to the law on direct participation of citizens in the government.

According to the adopted amendments, the collection of 400 000 signatures will be enough to initiate a compulsory referendum, daily Dnevnik repots.

All referendums held on the same day as elections will be valid if 50% of the participants in the vote also answer to the referendum question(s), according to a decision of Bulgaria's parliamentary legal committee.

Bulgarians will now be able to vote on referendums. This is one of the prescriptions of the new law amendment to be reviewed in Parliament Wednesday.

The legislative commission to Bulgarian Parliament approved the proposals for change at end July and now the text will be further reviewed by MPs for the second time.

The Greek referendum being held on July 5 had been ruled constitutional on Friday, however it may be contested after it is held. Problems:

Greeks are preparing for a referendum on July 5 that will see the debt-ridden country either accept or reject punishing austerity measures imposed by international creditors amid a serious cash crisis, street protests and increasing threats from global institutions. 

Lawmakers in Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee have given the green light to questions due to be put to a vote in a referendum on election rules this autumn.

The three issues on which citizens should have a say are the introduction of a partial majority system, mandatory voting, and e-voting.

Proto Thema on Monday acquired the single ballot for next Sunday’s snap referendum — another neo-Greek political neologism – which shows the question that citizens wishing to vote in the plebiscite will be called on to answer.

Four noted Greek constitutional experts commented on the prospect of a referendum, called by PM Alexis Tsipras in the wee hours of Saturday, with somewhat different views emerging, but with all four bemoaning the deadlines for its holding and questioning the question to be asked.