Opponents of Macedonia name change cheer low turnout for referendum

SKOPJE, MACEDONIA — A referendum on changing the name of the country of Macedonia to North Macedonia to pave the way for NATO membership attracted tepid voter participation Sunday, a blow to the prime minister who negotiated the deal and hoped for a strong message of support.

Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev nonetheless declared the balloting a “success for democracy and for a European Macedonia.”

Results from 58 per cent of polling stations showed 90.8 per cent voter approval for the name change. The turnout appeared far smaller than the massive participation the government had encouraged.

Election officials reported that as of 6:30 p.m., half an hour before polls closed, the turnout stood at 34 per cent, based on data from 85 per cent of polling stations.

Opponents of the deal had called for a voter boycott and started celebrating outside parliament before the balloting was done, saying the turnout marked a clear defeat for the government.

Zaev, for his part, said he would expect parliamentary support for the next steps in the process, which involves amending the country’s constitution.

If the final results showed a clear “Yes” win, “the future is clear,” Zaev said, adding he would expect opposition lawmakers to support the constitutional changes. Otherwise, he said, the only other option would be to call an early election.

The deal reached in June intended to resolve a dispute dating from Macedonia’s declaration of independence from Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Greece, arguing that its new northern neighbour’s name implied territorial ambitions on its own province of the same name, has blocked Macedonia’s efforts to join NATO since then.

Under the June deal, the Greek government would drop those objections, opening the way for Macedonia to join the military alliance as well as the European Union.

The weak participation could make it harder for Zaev to muster the required two-thirds support in parliament to push through constitutional amendments.

THANASSIS STAVRAKIS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Protesters who had urged voters to boycott Sunday’s referendum to change Macedonia’s name to North Macedonia chant slogans as they demonstrate in Skopje.