TISP did not collect enough signatures for a referendum on a presidential republic

"There is Such a People" has not collected enough signatures for a petition for holding a referendum for a change of the form of a government from a parliamentary republic to a presidential republic. This became clear on April 24 from a social media post by the party's leader Slavi Trifonov.

The party does not agree with the conditions for initiating a referendum set out in the existing legislation, so they will work for a change in the law, the post says.

Trifonov thanked everyone who supported the initiative.

"We collected 145,193 signatures from the Bulgarian citizens - in Bulgaria and all over the world - for a referendum for convening a Grand National Assembly to change the form of governance of Bulgaria from a parliamentary to a presidential republic.

These signatures are insufficient under the current law and such a referendum will not be initiated now. We had to collect 400,000 signatures (which the requirement to send the referendum petition to Parliament). It is no coincidence that I say 'now', because we did not just collect signatures, we raised the issue of what the form of government of Bulgaria should be. Because the current form of government is not working well and there needs to be an alternative.

And if a government is not formed now, or a short-lived and dysfunctional government is formed, this time it is not us, but the people themselves who will raise the issue of a presidential republic," he wrote in a social media post.

"There is Such a People" initiates petition for a referendum on a parliamentary or presidential republic.