June 25, 2011 remained in Bulgaria's history and the history of Gorna Malina Municipality as the day when one of the few successful referendums was held. 89.6% of the people who cast their votes during this referendum said no to the question: Should Bulgarian companies be allowed to build stone pits and dung-hills for dangerous waste on the territory of the municipality? The referendum was initiated by Bulgaria's then Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism, which gave a Bulgarian company permission to extract stone material earlier, Deputy Mayor of Gorna Malina Angel Zhilanov told Radio Bulgaria.

“This idea threatened to destroy one whole region, where many people decided to build their homes and holiday houses. The region itself is perfect for eco-tourism. We won a project for the reforestation of some 50 hectares, because we believe that this region, as well as the whole municipality of Gorna Malina, must develop as an environmentally-friendly area. The state gave a concession to a particular company without discussing the idea with our municipality in advance and taking the interests of the local population into consideration. In fact, that decision would have changed completely the future development of the municipality of Gorna Malina. That is why this referendum was our last chance. We believed that this was the best way to hear the voice of the ordinary people. It was a lesson given to the companies who think that they can make easy money and sponge on our municipality. It is also a lesson to the public institutions which give such permissions to companies under pressure, or for mercenary motives. ”

The referendum actually showed how important the civil initiative, the unity and the solidarity are. If the referendum had turned unsuccessful, the whole municipality would have suffered irreversible consequences. The village of Negushevo, could have been entirely depopulated and destroyed, because the stone-pit would have been situated only 600 meters away from the village. The first in Bulgaria Monument to Direct Democracy was unveiled in Negushevo, which symbolizes the gratitude of the municipality to the local population.

Here is what the author of this idea artist Mihail Tanev told Radio Bulgaria.

“Both the referendum and the monument will remain in the history of the municipality and will remind us of our common deed. We all gathered on what we called Unity square. Unity is what makes us strong.”

After the categorical victory at the local referendum the municipality of Gorna Malina became the first protected green municipality in Bulgaria which attracts a lot of investments in tourism. The local authorities have the opportunity to build a number of eco-paths, bicycling routes, guest houses, etc. Four or five years ago there was not even a single hotel in the region. Today there are nearly 120 guest houses and their number continues to grow. Another guest house opened doors for tourists on the day the monument was unveiled.

Although the local referendums are very rare in this country, we can give other fresh examples of successful votes. One of them is the referendum in the village of Konstantinovo, which voted whether it should become part of the city of Varna, or not. The referendum was held back in 2009. Last year the population of Kaspichan voted against the construction of an incinerator on the territory of the municipality. Every Bulgarian municipality, village or town can organize similar civil initiatives, including referendums. It is worth the effort. Otherwise, the problems in all Bulgarian municipalities would continue to deepen and the institutions would carry on taking decisions without asking the sovereign. Is that what we want? If not, it is down to all of us to make the change!

English version: Kostadin Atanasov