Macedonians vote in referendum on whether to change country's name

SKOPJE (Reuters) - The people of Macedonia voted in a referendum on Sunday on whether to change its name to ‘Republic of North Macedonia’, a move that would resolve a decades-old 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 neighbor’s name represents a claim on its territory and has vetoed its entrance into NATO and the EU.

The two governments struck a deal in June based on the proposed new name, but nationalist opponents argue the change would undermine the ethnic identity of Macedonia’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 to pursue admission into bodies such as the EU and NATO for Macedonia, one of the countries to emerge from the collapse of Yugoslavia.

“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.