Transnistrians could vote in a referendum on January 24

The leader of the breakaway republic of Transnistria Igor Smirnov submitted the proposal to hold a referendum on the new draft constitution of the region to the local central electoral body. The project costs 4.669 million Transnistrian rubles (6.3 million lei), the chief accountant of the electoral commission Natalia Burdiuja announced at a meeting, Info-Prim Neo's correspondent in Tiraspol reports. The referendum was arranged for January 24, 2010. The electoral commission's chairman Petru Denisenko said that the document filed by Igor Smirnov includes the text of the new constitution, which was approved at the meeting of the constitutional commission. The region's Supreme Soviet will examine the proposal on November 11. An initiative group composed of 62 persons said that if the proposal is rejected and the deputies are against holding the referendum, there will be collected 15,000 signatures from voters in support of the referendum. Vladimir Voevodin, the head of the local council for the coordination of the political parties and public organizations, said everything possible will be made for the population to know the text of the new constitution. The promotion activities will start next week.