The Initiative “67 is Too much” Collected more than 600,000 Signatures

May 12, 2019 at Ban Josip Jelačić Square in Zagreb, the organizers of the union initiative “67 is too much” announced that they have collected more than 600,000 citizen signatures for calling a referendum. The aim of the referendum is to prevent raising the retirement age to 67 years. The referendum is expected to be held at the beginning of September.

Announcement of Signature Collection Results

Precisely at midnight, at the end of the two-week signature collection, the national coordinator of the initiative Mirela Bojić announced the success of the campaign. She highlighted that signatures are still coming in and thanked all the citizens who supported the initiative – young people, retirees, and families who showed by signing how important the issue of the pension system is to them.

Thanks to Citizens and Volunteers

Bojić especially thanked volunteers and activists who, despite bad weather, stood at the stands and tirelessly collected signatures. “Every signature was important and thanks to all of them we managed to collect more than 600,000 signatures,” she emphasized. She also noted that many citizens actively sought out the stands and crossed parts of the city to support the initiative.

Symbolic Messages

After the announcement, Bojić symbolically released a balloon with the number 67 written on it into the air, stating that this “67 should never return.” She then added that now “it’s easier to breathe” and took a Bronhi candy as a symbolic moment of relief. Finally, she thanked the media for their objective and comprehensive coverage during the 15-day campaign.

Submission of Signatures to the Parliament

Bojić announced that the signatures will be submitted to the Croatian Parliament within ten days to two weeks, depending on the number of lists received and the work involved in verifying their validity. The organizing committee will first review all the lists to ensure that only correct and valid signatures are submitted to the Parliament.

Required Threshold and Number of Voters

According to data from the Ministry of Administration, there were a total of 3,735,680 voters registered in the voter registry as of April 27, 2019, and at least 373,568 signatures were needed to call a referendum. The initiative has far exceeded that threshold.

Conclusion

Mirela Bojić stated that no government should ignore the will of more than 600,000 citizens. The citizens have clearly stated that they do not want this kind of pension reform. The government must allow the referendum because it is a right guaranteed to citizens by the Referendum Act “, Bojić emphasized.