The National Election Committee (NVB) has approved a referendum bid submitted by opposition LMP which aims to scrap provisions in the Hungarian law on construction which allow priority investments to be fast-tracked, the party’s deputy group leader said on Thursday. LMP, which unsuccessfully launched the referendum bid last summer, had turned to the Kúria, Hungary’s supreme court, which overruled the NVB’s decision to reject the bid. Antal Csárdi told a press conference that in principle all obstacles to holding a referendum on the issue had been removed, and additional rights given to companies making priority investments would be struck down. If no one appeals the decision within the next two weeks, LMP will start gathering signatures at the end of February, he said. “If all goes to plan”, the referendum could be held in the autumn, Csárdi said. The referendum aims to ensure that investments “that could ruin the residential environment and make everyday life impossible” would not be made without consulting locals, he said.