One third of eligible voters back Macedonia name change deal

Macedonian voters on Sunday supported a plan to rename the country aimed at ending a decades-long spat with Greece and unlocking a path to NATO and EU membership, although the referendum was marred by low turnout.

With ballots from 93 percent of polling stations counted, 91.3 percent of votes favoured the name changing to North Macedonia, compared to 5.7 percent opposed, according to the electoral commission’s official count.

However, only a third of the 1.8 million-strong electorate voted.

Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev has described a referendum on changing the small European country’s name to North Macedonia and thereby pave the way to NATO membership as a clear success, despite lower than hoped for voter turnout.

Zaev said he had no intention of resigning as the “vast majority” of those who voted Sunday approved the name change, part of a deal with Greece to end a nearly three-decade-long dispute over what the country is called.

Before the referendum was held, he had said he would resign if a vast majority said no the deal.

Zaev said the result was a clear indication of the will of Macedonia’s people. He called on lawmakers to support the next step need to finalize the deal, which is ratification of necessary constitutional changes.

He stressed that there was “no better deal with Greece, and there could not be a better deal.”

France 24