The city of Kladno will respect the court ruling on the order of a preliminary measure, although it fundamentally disagrees with it, Vít Heral, spokesman for the Kladno town hall, said in a statement. The next procedure will also depend on the opinion of the court.
According to Heral, this is a preliminary measure that will cancel the already fully prepared vote on the date approved by the council. From the city’s point of view, from a practical point of view, everything required by law and related to repeated voting in the local referendum has been done. “The organizational efforts and energy of many people were wasted, not to mention the resources already spent,” added the spokesperson of the town hall.
“It is not yet clear whether the date of the referendum will be determined by the court or imposed on the city to reschedule it,” said Gamanová. According to the spokesman, Kladno will wait for the final decision of the court, and in the event that the referendum announced by the council is annulled by the court, it will defend itself with a cassation complaint at the Supreme Administrative Court.
The January referendum, which took place during the presidential elections and was attended by 27 percent of voters, was previously declared invalid by the court. The lawsuit was filed by the Kladno Without Gambling Initiative, whose members include opposition representatives from Kladno. Opponents pointed out, for example, that Kladno paid for an information campaign against the referendum with public money and that some commissions did not actively offer ballots. The court did not order the referendum to be called again, according to the judgment, it was within the competence of Kladno representatives. They decided in March that the referendum would take place on April 15.
Citizens were to answer in the referendum whether they agree that the statutory city of Kladno should take all possible steps in its independent capacity to immediately prevent the operation of gambling games listed in the Gambling Act on its entire territory for the purpose of protecting public order and increasing security in the city.
The city regulates the operation of gambling halls and casinos, they can only be at 12 specified addresses, in the past there were about 130. Kladno’s gambling income is approximately 100 million crowns per year. According to an earlier statement by the mayor of Kladno, Milan Volf (Election for Kladno), there are no problems with gambling in the city.
The referendum on gambling in Kladno is invalid, the court ruled
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