The referendum on the location of the town hall in Prague 7 will be extended to include more questions

Prague - The local referendum regarding the new town hall seat in Prague 7 will expand to include three additional questions. After several hours of discussion, the representatives decided on this today. In addition to voting on the criteria for selecting the town hall building, as recently mandated by the Supreme Administrative Court (NSS), residents will also express their opinions on transport and healthcare issues. The voting will take place on January 11 and 12, 2013, simultaneously with the first round of presidential elections.
     The court ordered the holding of a referendum in the municipal district based on a cassation complaint filed by dissatisfied residents. This is the first such court decision. People will decide on four questions regarding the allegedly overpriced construction of the town hall. Initially, the representatives dismissed the holding of the referendum with coalition votes.
     The representatives today added a question about the possible establishment of a pedestrian zone on Milady Horákové Street from Strossmayer Square to Letenské Square and a question regarding the preservation of services at the healthcare polyclinic in Prague 7. Voting will also take place on the idea of conducting transit traffic between Hlávkův Bridge and Troja Bridge, where the Blanka tunnel will emerge, underground. The opposition labeled this question as nonsensical. The Greens unsuccessfully proposed to include zero tolerance for gambling in the referendum.
     The town hall will ensure the posting of posters with information about the addresses of individual polling stations from December 17 to 20. The referendum and the presidential elections will be held in separate rooms, mostly in school buildings. Both votes will have separate electoral commissions, it was stated at the council. A similar situation has occurred in Plzeň, where they want to combine the presidential elections with a referendum on the construction of a giant building near the center.
     The Office of Prague 7 reports 33,091 eligible voters according to the website. The validity of the referendum is conditioned by a turnout of 35 percent of voters. For the outcome of the referendum to become binding for the municipal district, a majority of the voters would have to vote in favor of the individual questions, which would also represent at least 25 percent of all residents eligible to vote in the local referendum.