The referendum was initiated by a petition organized by the Bulgarian Socialist Party, which succeeded in overcoming the threshold of 500 000 signatures. Counting six million inhabitants, half a million of signatures are required in Bulgaria to make the petition mandatory.

For the result of the referendum to come into effect, the law requires a turnout equaling or surpassing the turnout of the previous parliamentary elections. This rate was 60.2%.

Following the invitation of the Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Democracy International will deploy observers to Bulgaria to monitor the referendum in terms of fairness and freedom. 

Dr Volker Mittendorf, Anna Capretti, Dr. Klaus Hofmann (all from Germany), Dr. Magdalena Forowicz from Switzerland (C2D) and Daniela Bozhinova from Bulgaria will be the delegates of the mission. They will be the only observers from abroad. 

All journalists are invited to contact our observers in Bulgaria for for up-to-date information and an evaluation of the referendum.  Contact:
Daniela Bozhinova, Tel: 00359 899 145 652 (GSM) (English speaking)
Dr. Volker Mittendorf, Tel. 0049 175 416 97 18 (GSM) (German and English speaking)