The Prague Monitor reports that the association of small Czech municipalities complained to the Prague city assembly Friday that it has not debated their petition which supports a referendum on the Prague 2016 Summer Olympic Games, and the group accused Prague’s Mayor Pavel Bem of unlawful activity regarding the matter.
The small town mayor’s associated with the Municipalities Against Tax Discrimination handed the petition, signed by more than 1,000 citizens of Prague, to Prague city hall on October 19. Under the law the city assembly had to discuss the petition within two months.
Jana Jurencakova, spokesman for the group and an independent senator said, “I understand that the petition is at odds with the mayor’s megalomaniac plan, but it is impossible to shun (the debate on) it”. She said the mayor’s failure to have the petition discussed by the city assembly is a violation of law and an interference in the right to petition.
Jurencakova said, “it ensues from the assessment (we have at our disposal) that we could react to Prague mayor’s failure to act by suing him for inactivity or lodging a constitutional complaint”.
According to the Prague Monitor the mayors are concerned if the Games are held in Prague and elsewhere in the Czech Republic, it would strip small towns’ budgets of money. If a referendum was held and if people supported a Prague bid, it would be a sovereign decision they would make, aware that the Games would be financed at the cost of other necessary projects.
The mayors say that without a referendum, Prague should finance the Olympics itself and keep the possible profit.
Spokesman Jiri Wolf said City Hall will check on the situation and comment on it Friday.
