Oresharski Government

Expats will be able to cast ballots in the voting rules referendum that is due this autumn, since it will coincide with local elections, an MP has said.

Nearly six months before the forthcoming local elections in the autumn, nearly a half of Bulgarians state that they do not intend to participate in the elections, while 17 % are certain that they will not vote.

This is shown by the latest opinion poll of Sova Harris, which had been conducted between March 12 and 18 and was released on Wednesday.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev has told Parliament he will use his constitutional right to trigger a national referendum on election rules.

"There is a consensus that it has to be held alongside local elections."

Former Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetlin Yovchev has refuted allegations that the previous elected government snooped on protesters during the mass anti-government demonstrations in the summer of 2013.

The direction of the state agency to the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works in Kardzhali has a new director starting Tuesday, BGNES reported.

Orhan Ibrahim, who was the director of the Road Infrastructure Agency in the southern Bulgarian town was fired on account of bad management of the crisis situation with the heavy snowfalls in the region.

The Bulgarian Parliament approved on Friday the amendments to the Defence and Armed Forces Act at first reading.

The amendments provide opportunities for Bulgarian servicemen and civilians to serve in international organisations operating on Bulgarian territory, Darik radio reports.

The leader of opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) Mihail Mikov requested in a letter to Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev to impose a veto on the issue of the new BGN 16 B debt.

Mikov warned that in case Plevneliev does not veto the debt, his party will appeal to the Constitutional Court, daily Dnevnik repots.

The Bulgarian Parliament approved on Wednesday the ratification of the contract for the issue of new debt of BGN 16 B.

The ratification was approved by 161 MPs, with 50 MPs voting against, while 12 abstained, BGNES news agency reports.

Prof Georgi Bliznashki, who was caretaker PM between August and November 2014, claimed on Monday there had been eavesdropping on some of his phone conversations during the 2013 anti-government protest.

In his words, it was done in an "impertinent" and an "insolent" way.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev will convene a meeting of the Consultative Council for National Security in March over defense issues.

Plevneliev made clear that the meeting would be devoted to the country's defense policy and the condition of its armed forces.