Opponents of Macedonia name change referendum celebrate low turn out
324 views · Published 5 October 2018 · 1:28 · Indexed 28 September 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(30 Sep 2018) Members of an opposition group in Skopje boycotting the vote to change Macedonia's name celebrated the referendum's low turnout on Sunday. A referendum on changing the nation's name 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. Results from 58 percent of polling stations showed 90.8 percent voter approval for the name change. The turnout appeared far smaller than the massive participation the government had encouraged. 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. Dragan Ugrinovski, leader of opposition group "Macedonia is Boycotting", said "we won against them," referring to the government. 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 for to push through constitutional amendments needed to finalize the deal. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/0fdde7c28f3f716c595f7fd0264ecbf3
