Macedonia’s electoral commission has announced that the Sunday referendum to change the Balkan country’s name to the Republic of Northern Macedonia has failed to pass the necessary 50 percent turnout threshold. "On this referendum it is clear that the decision has not been made," the head of the electoral board, Oliver Derkoski, said. With some 94 percent of the ballots counted, the turnout stays at 36 percent. Over 90 percent of them voted “yes” to the question: “Are you in favor of NATO and EU membership, and accepting the name agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and Greece?" Meanwhile, Macedonian PM Zoran Zaev said that the will of the people must be respected and approved by the Parliament despite the low turnout. Zaev said he would call for snap parliamentary elections if the lawmakers fail to deliver. The deal with Greece, agreed in June this year, proposes name change in return for the lifting of the Greek veto on Macedonia’s NATO and EU membership. EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn has already voiced support to the referendum, calling on all parties to “to respect this decision and take it forward with utmost responsibility and unity across party lines.”

to RT newsletter to get stories the mainstream media won’t tell you. </s> SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia held a referendum on Sunday on whether to change its name to ‘Republic of North Macedonia’, a move that would resolve a decades-old name dispute with Greece which had blocked its membership bids for the European Union and NATO.

Greece, which has a province called Macedonia, maintains that its northern neighbour’s name represents a claim on its territory and has vetoed its entrance into NATO and the EU.

Athens and Skopje struck a deal in June based on the proposed new name, but nationalist opponents argue the change would undermine the ethnic identity of the country’s Slavic majority population.

President Gjorge Ivanov has said he will not be voting in the referendum and a boycott campaign has cast doubts on whether turnout will meet the minimum 50 percent required for the referendum to be valid.

The question on the referendum ballot read: “Are you for NATO and EU membership with acceptance of the agreement with Greece”.

Supporters of the name change, including Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, argue that it is a price worth paying for admission into the EU and NATO.

“I came today to vote for the future of the country, for young people in Macedonia so they can be live freely under the umbrella of the European Union because it means safer lives for all of us,” said Olivera Georgijevska, 79, in Skopje.

Although not legally binding, enough members of parliament have said they will abide by the vote’s outcome to make it decisive. The name change would requires a two-thirds majority in parliament.

The state election commission said there had been no reports of irregularities in the fist two hours of the vote. Turnout stood at 2.45 percent.

“I came out to vote because of my children, our place is in Europe,” said Gjose Tanevski, 62 voter in Skopje.

In front of the parliament in Skopje, Vladimir Kavardarkov, 54, was preparing a small stage and pulling up chairs in front of tents set up by those who will boycott the referendum.

“We are for NATO and EU, but we want to join with our heads up, not through the service door” Kavadarkov said. “We are a poor country, but we do have dignity.”

“If they (NATO and EU) don’t want to take us as Macedonia, we can turn to others like China and Russia and become part of Euro-Asia integration.”

Prime Minister Zaev says NATO membership will bring much needed investment to Macedonia, which has an unemployment rate of more than 20 percent.

“I believe the huge majority will be in favour because more than 80 percent of our citizens are in favour of EU and NATO,” Zaev said after casting his ballot.

He said that a “yes” result would be “confirmation of our future.”

A poll published on Monday by Macedonia’s Institute for Policy Research (IPIS) said between 30 and 43 percent of voters would take part in the referendum - below the required turnout.

Another poll, conducted by Macedonia’s Telma TV, found 57 percent of respondents planning to vote on Sunday. Of those, 70 percent said they would vote yes. </s> Voters in Macedonia took to the polls on Sunday to decide on a controversial referendum on whether to change the name of their country — a move that would pave the way for entry into NATO and the European Union. But low voter turnout could threaten the validity of the outcome.

Half an hour before polls were to close, voter turnout stood at 34 percent, according to the Associated Press. That figure was based on data from 85 percent of polling stations, according to State Electoral Commission head Oliver Derkoski.

Under the Macedonian Constitution, if turnout is less than 50 percent, the results of the referendum would not be binding.

Macedonians are voting whether to change their country's name to North Macedonia. Greece's refusal to recognize Macedonia as a country has barred it from participating in both NATO and the EU. Greece insists Macedonia designate itself as "North" to differentiate the country from Greece's own province of Macedonia, the birthplace of Alexander the Great. The dispute goes back to the early 1990s, when Macedonia declared its independence from Yugoslavia.

The ballot question asks: "Are you in favor of membership in NATO and the European Union by accepting the deal between the Republic of Macedonia and Republic of Greece?"

"I invite everyone to come out and make this serious decision for the future of our country, for future generations," Macedonia's prime minister, Zoran Zaev, said, according to the AP. Zaev has been at the forefront of negotiations with Greece's prime minister, Alexis Tsipras.

In June, after months of negotiations, Greece and Macedonia reached an agreement under certain conditions: Macedonian would add "North" to the country's name, while Greece would drop objections to Macedonia's NATO membership.

The European Commission released a statement in June saying: "We wholeheartedly congratulate Prime Ministers Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev for their determination and leadership in reaching this historic agreement between their countries, which contributes to the transformation of the entire region of South-East Europe."

But protesters in Macedonia have been pushing for a boycott. Notable critics of the referendum include Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov, who called the agreement a "flagrant violation of sovereignty," the AP reports.

One referendum protester in Macedonia told NPR's Joanna Kakissis, "It is not dignified, it is humiliating, that I must not call myself a Macedonian, the only name I have for myself, and for my ancestors, and for my children, only because of a political deal and a diplomatic deal."

If the referendum passes, it would end the two countries' almost three-decade-long dispute. According to the AP, if the referendum does not pass, Zaev has said he would resign and the deal with Greece would end. </s> Macedonia to hold referendum on name change

SKOPJE: Macedonia’s parliament on Monday set September 30 as the date for a referendum on changing the country’s name to the Republic of North Macedonia, a high-stakes vote aimed at resolving a long-running row with Greece and clearing the path to join NATO and the EU.

Skopje and Athens signed a landmark agreement in June to rename the former Yugoslav republic in an effort to break a stalemate that has poisoned their relations since 1991 and hobbled Macedonia’s integration with the West. Greece has objected to its neighbour being called Macedonia because it has a northern province of the same name, accusing Skopje of territorial ambitions and appropriating its cultural heritage.

While more than 120 countries, including the US and Russia, have recognised the name the “Republic of Macedonia,” Athens has voiced its protest by blocking the country from joining NATO or starting EU accession talks.

The referendum question approved by 68 out of Macedonia’s 120 lawmakers on Monday does not spell out the new name clearly. But it closely links the vote to the government’s ambitions of stronger ties with the West. On September 30 the public will be asked: “Are you for EU and NATO membership by accepting the agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Greece?” </s> The state election commission in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) says voter turnout for a referendum on changing the country's name to “Republic of North Macedonia” to pave the way for NATO membership stood at 28.8 percent two hours before polls close.

 

 State Electoral Commission head Oliver Derkoski provided the updated turnout figure as of 5 p.m. Sunday.

 

 Low turnout could make it harder for FYROM Prime Minister Zoran Zaev to persuade lawmakers to vote on constitutional changes needed for the deal with Greece to become final.

 

 The country’s Constitution requires a minimum turnout of 50 percent of eligible voters for a binding referendum. However, Zaev's government says the referendum was called as a consultative move.

 

 That means it could interpret the outcome as a fair reflection of public opinion regardless of how many voters participated. [AP] </s> SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia’s prime minister pledged on Sunday to press on with a vote in parliament to change the country’s name, although his coalition acknowledged a referendum appeared to have failed to secure the 50 percent turnout needed to make it legally valid.

The proposed name change is part of an agreement reached in June by pro-Western Prime Minister Zoran Zaev with Macedonia’s neighbor Greece to resolve a decades-old dispute that had prevented Macedonia from joining NATO or the EU.

With the official turnout tally stuck at 34 percent half an hour before polls closed, a ruling coalition official acknowledged that it seemed unlikely that the 50 percent threshold would be reached. The opposition said the low turnout proved that Macedonians had rejected the name change.

Election officials still had not updated the official turnout figure hours after polls shut. Partial results showed that the people who did vote overwhelmingly backed the name change — more than 90 percent voted yes with 63 percent of polling stations reporting.

But that had never been in doubt, since opponents of the change had urged followers not to vote, rather than vote no.

“It is clear that the agreement with Greece has not received the green light from the people,” main nationalist opposition VMRO-DPMNE party leader Hristiajn Mickoski told journalists.

In an address, Zaev made no mention of the turnout but said most people who had voted had backed the change and their votes must be respected. He pledged to hold a vote in parliament on the name change, and said he would call an early election if lawmakers failed to give it the two-thirds majority needed to change the constitution.

“I am determined to take Macedonia into the European Union and NATO,” Zaev said.

While the referendum is officially not binding, a failure to reach the turnout threshold would be a blow to Zaev.

The Greek foreign ministry said it respected the will of the people of the country, which it refers to by the provisional name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The referendum passed judgment on the agreement with Greece reached in June, under which Macedonia would change its name to the Republic of North Macedonia. Greece, which has a province called Macedonia, maintains that its northern neighbor’s name represents a claim on its territory.

Because of the dispute, Greece has vetoed Macedonia’s entrance into NATO and the EU. While a majority of Macedonians want to join NATO and the EU, nationalist opponents of the name change argued that it undermines the ethnic identity of Macedonia’s Slavic majority population.

The question on the referendum ballot read: “Are you for NATO and EU membership with acceptance of the agreement with Greece”.

“It is clear now that it (turnout) is unlikely to reach the threshold of 50 pct,” the ruling party official told Reuters.

Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos told Greek radio on Sunday: “We are looking forward to a positive result for the validation process to continue and to move to the next stage, the constitutional revision.”

Supporters of the name change argue that it is a price worth paying to pursue admission into bodies such as the EU and NATO.

“I came today to vote for the future of the country, for young people in Macedonia so they can be live freely under the umbrella of the European Union because it means safer lives for all of us,” said Olivera Georgijevska, 79, in Skopje.

But opponents said the name change represented national humiliation.

“We are for NATO and EU, but we want to join with our heads up, not through the service door,” said Vladimir Kavadarkov, who backed the referendum boycott. “We are a poor country, but we do have dignity.” </s> SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia’s prime minister pledged on Sunday to press on with a vote in parliament to change the country’s name to resolve a decades-old dispute with Greece, despite failing to secure the 50 percent turnout at a referendum required to make it valid.

The proposed name change is part of an agreement reached in June by pro-Western Prime Minister Zoran Zaev with Greece to resolve the dispute over the country’s name, which had prevented Macedonia from joining NATO or the EU.

With 85 percent of votes counted, official turnout was just 36 percent, and election officials made clear there was no chance the threshold would be cleared.

“On this referendum, it is clear that the decision has not been made,” election commission head Oliver Derkoski told reporters.

The people who did vote overwhelmingly backed the name change — more than 90 percent voted yes with 63 percent of polling stations reporting. But that had never been in doubt, since opponents of the change had urged followers not to vote, rather than vote no.

Related Coverage Macedonia name referendum fails to reach turnout threshold: election commission

“It is clear that the agreement with Greece has not received the green light from the people,” main nationalist opposition VMRO-DPMNE party leader Hristiajn Mickoski told journalists.

The referendum was itself not legally binding, but lawmakers had pledged to abide by it, and the failure to reach the turnout threshold means opponents can now freely vote against the deal.

The nationalist opposition holds 49 seats in the 120-seat parliament, enough to block the two-thirds majority required to change the constitution.

In an address, Zaev made no mention of the turnout but said the votes of those who had backed the change must be respected. He pledged to hold a vote in parliament on the name change, and call an early election if lawmakers failed to enact it.

“I am determined to take Macedonia into the European Union and NATO,” Zaev said. He spoke again later in the evening, along similar lines: “It is time to support European Macedonia.”

Macedonia's PM Zoran Zaev, his wife Zorica and his son Dushko cast their ballot for the referendum in Macedonia on changing the country's name that would open the way for it to join NATO and the European Union in Strumica, Macedonia September 30, 2018. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski

BLOW

The Greek foreign ministry said it respected the will of the people of the country, which it refers to by the provisional name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The referendum passed judgment on the agreement with Greece reached in June, under which Macedonia would change its name to the Republic of North Macedonia. Greece, which has its own province called Macedonia, maintains that its northern neighbor’s name represents a claim on its territory.

Because of the dispute, Greece has vetoed Macedonia’s entrance into NATO and the EU. While polls have long showed that a vast majority of Macedonians want to join NATO and the EU, nationalist opponents of the name change argued that it undermined the ethnic identity of Macedonia’s Slavic majority.

The question on the referendum ballot read: “Are you for NATO and EU membership with acceptance of the agreement with Greece”.

Supporters of the name change argued that it was a price worth paying to pursue admission into bodies such as the EU and NATO.

Slideshow (11 Images)

“I came today to vote for the future of the country, for young people in Macedonia so they can be live freely under the umbrella of the European Union because it means safer lives for all of us,” said Olivera Georgijevska, 79, in Skopje.

But opponents said the name change represented national humiliation.

“We are for NATO and EU, but we want to join with our heads up, not through the service door,” said Vladimir Kavadarkov, who backed the referendum boycott. “We are a poor country, but we do have dignity.” </s> Macedonia's parliament on Monday approved plans to hold a referendum on changing the country's name to the Republic of North Macedonia.

In a vote that was boycotted by Conservative opponents, 68 lawmakers in the 120-seat assembly backed the proposal by Social Democrat Prime Minister Zoran Zaev. The vote is to take place on September 30.

The name change would allow the former Yugoslav republic to resolve its long-running dispute with neighboring Greece and join NATO and the European Union.

The parliamentary approval follows a landmark agreement between Skopje and Athens in June, when the two countries agreed to rename the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in an effort to break the stalemate that has afflicted their relations since 1991.

Athens has objected to its neighbor being called Macedonia because it has a northern province by the same name, and is concerned it may imply territorial ambitions.

The dispute has so far stymied Macedonia's efforts to join the NATO and the EU, where Greece enjoys a veto power.

Read more: Macedonia: What's in a name?

The proposed name change has triggered protests in both countries, with Macedonian nationalists calling it an assault on the country's identity.

The referendum question approved on Monday does not spell out the new name but underscores the government's ambitions of stronger ties with the West.

On September 30, the public will be asked: "Are you for EU and NATO membership by accepting the agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Greece?"

"The question is ambiguous and multifaceted, and above all manipulative," said Igor Janusev, a leading member of the nationalist opposition VMRO-DPMNE party.

If Macedonians do vote for the name change and the parliament amends the constitution, Greece's lawmakers will then have to ratify the accord.

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — 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.

"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 agreement 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.

Russia, however, is not keen on NATO expanding in a part of Europe once under its sphere of influence. Mattis said there was "no doubt" Moscow had funded groups inside Macedonia to campaign against the name change.

In Athens, the Greek foreign ministry noted the "contradictory" result of the referendum — overwhelming approval along with low turnout — and said careful moves were needed to "preserve the positive potential of the deal."

The agreement faces more hurdles before it can be finalized. If the constitutional amendments are approved by Macedonia's parliament, Greece will then also need to ratify it.

But Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras faces political problems of his own. His governing coalition partner, right-wing Independent Greeks head Panos Kammenos, has vowed to vote against the deal, leaving Tsipras reliant on opposition parties and independent lawmakers to push it through.

The June agreement aims to resolve a dispute dating from Macedonia's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Greece, arguing its new northern neighbor'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 deal, the former Yugoslav republic would amend its name to North Macedonia and Greece would drop its objections to the country joining NATO.

Supporters, led by Zaev, had characterized Sunday's vote as a linchpin of Macedonia's future prosperity, the key to its ability to join international institutions. NATO and EU membership would be a major step for a country that less than two decades ago almost descended into civil war, when parts of its ethnic Albanian minority took up arms against the government, seeking greater rights.

"The fact is that the agreement with Greece did not receive a green light," said Hristijan Mickoski, head of the opposition VMRO party. "This today is a defeat not only for the agreement with Greece, but for the crime of those who are in power."

However, the government had called the referendum consultative and non-binding, meaning it could interpret the outcome as a fair reflection of public opinion regardless of how many people voted. If the referendum were binding, the Macedonian Constitution requires a minimum turnout of 50 percent of eligible voters to be valid.

The question posed to voters was: "Are you in favor of membership in NATO and European Union by accepting the deal between (the) Republic of Macedonia and Republic of Greece?"

Critics of the name change include President Gjorge Ivanov, who has called the agreement with Greece a "flagrant violation of sovereignty."

"We don't recognize any other Macedonia but Macedonia. No North Macedonia," said Nevenka Ristovska, who was among opponents of the deal celebrating outside parliament, waving red-and-yellow Macedonian flags.

Ivana Bzganovic and Nicolae Dumitrache in Skopje and Demetri Nellas in Athens, Greece contributed to this report.
A referendum is held in the Republic of Macedonia on whether to change the country's name in order to join NATO and the EU.