Nuclear Referendum Campaigning Ends in Bulgaria

The information campaign for the referendum on the future of nuclear energy in Bulgaria ends at midnight on January 25th into the 26th.

This is the first referendum in the country since the fall of the Communist regime in 1989.

On January 27, 2013, Bulgarians will have to answer in the referendum the following question: "Should nuclear energy be developed in Bulgaria through the construction of new nuclear power units?"

The ballots will be white with the question printed on it and with two squares with the "yes" and "no" answer. One square must be marked with a cross (X) with a blue ink pen.

Any other ways to mark the answer will invalidate the ballot.

The voters must also place the ballot in the provided white envelope, which is to be cast by dropping it in a special transparent box before the poll's commission.

December 26th, Saturday is a "day of reflection" and any campaigning is banned.

Under the law, voter turnout is going to be key for the validity of the referendum as it postulated that in order to have a valid one, the same number of voters as at the last general election must go to the polls or 4.2 million people.

Having a valid referendum will be a challenge since recent polls have shown that anywhere between 1.6 million and 2.1 million people will cast a ballot, which is far below the threshold of 4.2 million needed to validate the vote.

People who say they will definitely vote are mostly supporters of the opposition left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP, and of plans to build a second Nuclear Power Plant in the Danube town of Belene, the poll further shows.

According to polls, 62% of those who will vote will say "yes" on the question while 32% will say no.

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

Originally, Belene NPP had to be built by Russian state company Atomstroyexport, but the Bulgarian cabinet froze the project in the early spring of 2012 due to perceived lack of economic effectiveness.