Bulgaria PM: Ruling Party Supporters to Vote 'No' on Nuclear Referndum

Bulgarian ruling GERB party supporters will be instructed to vote 'no' at the January 27 referendum on nuclear energy, explained Bulgarian PM and GERB chair Boyko Borisov.

"My instruction towards the party will be a "no." GERB members will receive such instructions," said Borisov in an interview for TV7 Sunday.

The question posed to Bulgarian citizens will be "Should nuclear energy be developed in Bulgaria through the construction of new nuclear power units?"

This is a reversal of the position of PM Borisov, who in the past had suggested he would opt for a 'yes' vote.

The specific cause for the convocation of a referendum is the unclear fate of frozen Belene NPP project.

The referendum was sponsored by the Bulgarian Socialist Party, which gathered a petition of more than the 0.5 M legally needed signatures.

In the interview Sunday, Borisov made it clear that GERB supports nuclear energy in principle, but opposes the Belene NPP.

"Outside of the referendum question, we support the creation of a new unit of the already existing Kozloduy NPP," said Borisov.

The Bulgarian PM added that the government and GERB are also in favor of the extension of the exploitation lives of currently functioning units 5 and 6 of Kozloduy NPP.