Checking Signatures for Belene Referendum To Take Three Months
A check of the 700,000 signatures collected in support of a referendum on nuclear power plant Belene's construction will take about three months, according to regional development minister Lilyana Pavlova.
The Civil Registration Department will check each signature until 500,000 are confirmed to be authentic, which is the minimum number required for a referendum to be called, state-run Bulgarian News Agency quoted Pavlova as saying on Tuesday.
However, according to the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), who organised the signatures collection, the check should take a month at the most.
At the end of July, BSP submitted to parliament a petition for holding a referendum on the Belene nuclear power plant construction project. Supported by 773,447 signatures, the petition came four months after Bulgaria decided to scrap the project.