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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 2 OcTOber 2018
Macedonia: Referendum deepens division over renaming country
By KONSTANTIN TESTORIDES the outcome was a valid
ELENA BECATOROS reflection of voters' will, say-
Associated Press ing the more than 600,000
SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) people who voted in favor
— Macedonia's govern- of the deal was far more
ment prepared for a politi- than the number that had
cal battle Monday to push voted for any politician in
through a deal with Greece Macedonia's short history.
that would ultimately pave Macedonia's international
the way for NATO member- partners called for parlia-
ship, after the agreement mentary support for the
won overwhelming support deal.
in a referendum but with "We urge leaders to rise
low voter turnout. above partisan politics and
The European Union, NATO, seize this historic opportu-
U.N. secretary-general and nity to secure a brighter
the United States urged the future for the country as a
small Balkan nation coun- full participant in Western
try to move forward with institutions," U.S. State De-
the next steps required to partment spokeswoman
enact the deal. Macedo- Heather Nauert said .
nia's international partners EU Enlargement Com-
have been eager to see A man walks along the Vardar riverside in Skopje, Macedonia, Monday, Oct. 1, 2018. missioner Johannes Hahn
the country join internation- Associated Press tweeted he expected "all
al institutions, in a region political leaders to respect
where Russia hasn't been forward with the next step: Macedonian President damental freedoms were this decision and take it for-
keen on NATO picking up seeking a two-thirds major- Gjorge Ivanov, a conser- "respected throughout the ward with utmost responsi-
new members. ity in the 120-member par- vative opponent of Zaev's, campaign" for the referen- bility and unity across party
Final results from Sunday's liament for required consti- described the referendum dum. lines."
referendum showed that tutional amendments. as a failure and insisted the But Macedonia's State U.N. Secretary-General
among the 36.9 percent If the amendments do not country deserved to join Electoral Commission cast Antonio Guterres said the
of registered voters who pass, Social-Democrat NATO, and ultimately the doubt on the result. overwhelming support from
cast ballots, 91.4 percent Zaev said he would have European Union, without Commission head Oliver Macedonians who voted
supported the deal that no choice but to call an changing its name. Derkoski said the Macedo- "is important" and urged "all
would change their coun- early election. "Do not try to change this nian Constitution stipulates political forces in the coun-
try's name to North Mace- Opponents of the deal reality. Do not underesti- a minimum 50 percent turn- try to proceed with imple-
donia. In return, Greece with Greece, arguing that mate the sovereign will of out for a referendum to be mentation," according to a
would drop its longstanding it undermined national in- the Macedonian people," considered binding. statement from U.N. depu-
objections to its northern terests, had advocated a Ivanov said. "And the real- The government has in- ty spokesman Farhan Haq.
neighbor being considered voter boycott of the ref- ity is that the referendum is sisted the turnout threshold Guterres reiterated the
for NATO membership. erendum. They seized on unsuccessful." was not relevant, saying U.N.'s commitment "to pro-
Macedonian Prime Minis- Sunday's low turnout as evi- International observers, it called the referendum vide all necessary support, if
ter Zoran Zaev, declared dence of the agreement's headed by the Organiza- consultatively to provide required" including through
the referendum a success rejection. tion for Security and Coop- an indication of popular his personal envoy and U.N.
and said he would move In a televised address, eration in Europe, said fun- opinion. It also argued that agencies, Haq said.q