site.btaPetition for Referendum on Keeping March 3 as National Holiday Gains 10,000 Signatures

A petition for the preservation of the national holiday of the Republic of Bulgaria, March 3, received over 10,000 signatures in support of holding a referendum. The petition was initiated by the Rise Up BG political formation.

The initiative committee behind the petition expressed their gratitude to the people who have supported the cause so far and called on the citizens who have not yet joined to do so in the remaining few days until the end of the deadline.

The petition for a referendum to preserve the national holiday on March 3 received overwhelming support across the country. Sociological data showed that 75% of Bulgarians do not agree with a change of the holiday.

The petition followed a much debated controversial proposed change of the Bulgarian national holiday from March 3 (the Day of Liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Oppression) to May 24 (Day of Slavonic Alphabet, Bulgarian Enlightenment and Culture), tabled by Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria, GERB-UDF, and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms.