Macedonia votes for name change
Low turnout highlights hurdles that still remain
SKOPJE, Macedonia — A referendum on changing Macedonia’s name as part of a deal that would pave the way for NATO membership won overwhelming support Sunday, but low voter turnout highlighted the hurdles that still remain for the Balkan country to join the alliance.
Prime Minister Zoran Zaev had hoped for a strong show of support in the referendum on whether to accept a June deal with Greece changing the country’s name to North Macedonia. That would help him with the next step of winning parliamentary support for the required constitutional amendments.
Results from more than 97 percent of polling stations showed 91.3 percent of voters approving the deal. But turnout stood at just 36.8 percent, a far cry from the massive support the government had hoped for.
Opponents to the name change had called for a boycott of the vote and celebrated in the street outside Parliament when turnout figures were announced, chanting slogans and waving flags.
Nevertheless, Zaev declared the vote a success.
“The people made a great choice and said ‘yes’ to our future. It is time for lawmakers to follow the voice of the people and to provide support,” he said. “There will be no better agree- ment with Greece, nor an alternative for NATO and the EU.”
Zaev said he would seek to secure the required two-thirds majority of the 120-seat parliament by next week for the constitutional changes. If he fails, he said the only alternative would be to call early elections.
The deal with Greece has faced vociferous opposition from a sizeable portion of the population on both sides of the border, with detractors saying their respective governments conceded too much to the other side and damaged national interests and identity.
The referendum stirred strong interest in the West, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis among a long line of foreign officials who visited Skopje ahead of the vote to urge Macedonians to back the deal.