The Administrative Court in Plovdiv has halted the execution of a Karlovo Municipal Council decision that scheduled a local referendum for June 28, 2026, related to plans for a Rheinmetall military production facility, the municipality confirmed.
The ruling concerns a case filed following an appeal by Iganovo EAD. The court found that allowing the referendum process to proceed could cause what it described as “significant or difficult to repair damage” to the applicant, should the decision later be overturned.
At the same time, the court stressed that its decision does not address the legality of the referendum itself, but only the potential risk of irreparable harm before the final ruling in the case is issued.
The planned vote would have asked residents of Karlovo municipality three questions linked to land use changes and the possible construction of facilities for ammunition and explosives production, including whether the municipality should avoid changing zoning plans for such projects, whether citizens oppose a production base tied to Rheinmetall AG and VMZ EAD, and whether a gunpowder plant should be prohibited in the area.
The panel reviewing the case included Judge Dani Kanazireva, along with Yordan Rusev and Nikolay Ingilizov, according to reports cited by SEGA and BTA.
