Bulgarian Rightists Launch Petition for Smoking Ban Referendum

Bulgaria's right-wing Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) will start a petition for a referendum on smoking in public spaces next week, according to UDF leader Emil Kabaivanov.

Speaking Tuesday at a press conference after a meeting of the National Executive Council of UDF, Kabaivanov informed that the initiative committee for the petition would be headed by UDF Deputy Chair Lyubomir Kovachev.

Kovachev, as cited by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA), pointed out that the party had submitted a notification about the petition with the Parliamentary Registry Office.

He said that UDF would request a referendum on the question "Should the smoking ban in public places be dropped?"

The Deputy Chair of UDF said that the question would be of interest for most Bulgarians and anybody could state their opinion on the matter.

Kovachev claimed that the petition for a smoking ban referendum would attract more signatures than the signatures collected by the initiative committee for the referendum on the Belene NPP project.

Kabaivanov suggested that referendums were to be organized alongside parliamentary, local, and presidential elections in order to save money.

The full ban on smoking in enclosed public places in Bulgaria has been in force since June 1, 2012.