The first open hearing on a challenge to the Simeonovgrad council's refusal to allow a local referendum on a refugee centre will be held on 21 October at the Administrative Court in Haskovo, the court said on its website.
Residents filed the appeal. The dispute is over banning a centre for asylum seekers in the municipality. The proposed question reads: "Do you agree to ban the building of a centre for housing people seeking international protection on the territory of Simeonovgrad municipality?"
An initiative committee made the request, backed by a petition of residents that the Vazrazhdane party started. Council chair Svetlana Stoeva submitted the motion. Councillors rejected the request unanimously on 18 June, after a debate that lasted more than an hour.
The council said the issue is a matter of state policy and decisions by state bodies, so it falls outside the powers of local self-government. It also said the proposal concerns property owned by the state. A legal opinion prepared for the council also concluded that a local referendum cannot be held on the issue.
The residents who filed the appeal say the decision broke key procedural rules. They also say it goes against the substantive law and its purpose.
In February, councillors passed a declaration against building a refugee centre in the municipality.