(AP-ANSA) - SKOPJE - 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 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. But opponents painted
Sunday's vote as a clear failure. "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." Boycott supporters
were jubilant. "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. (AP-ANSA)
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