The vast majority of those who voted in Sunday referendum in Macedonia supported the plan to rename the country and thereby end a decadeslong spat with Greece and unlock a path to EU and NATO membership, but low turnout compromised the results of the referendum.

With ballots from 80 percent of polling stations counted, 91.2 percent of votes were in favor of the name changing to North Macedonia, compared to 5.6 percent opposing the move, according to the electoral commission's official count.

However, Sunday's vote was marred by a low turnout, with only a third of the electorate voting.

The vote failed to secure the 50 percent turnout required to make the vote valid, the head of the election commission said Sunday.

"On this referendum it is clear that the decision has not been made," election commission head Oliver Derkoski told reporters.

Greece reacted to the result with the Foreign Ministry saying it "remains committed" to its June agreement with Skopje under which Athens would drop its objections to Macedonia joining the EU and NATO in return for a change of name,

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras expressed his support for his Macedonian counterpart in a telephone call in which he hailed the "determination and courage" of Zoran Zaev to "complete the implementation of this agreement." a government source told AFP.

Zaev had earlier voiced confidence that the country would support a yes vote.

"I think the huge majority of the citizens who voted have chosen the European path for Macedonia," the social-democrat leader said, an hour after the polls closed.

But two-thirds of voters stayed away from the polling stations for the non-binding referendum on whether to change the name of the country to "North Macedonia".

Zaev urged the right-wing opposition, who might well question the vote's credibility due to the low turnout, to "respect the democratic will of the citizens" and ratify the deal in parliament or face "early parliamentary elections."

For the two-thirds parliamentary majority required to ratify the result, Zaev and his coalition partners from the ethnic Albanian minority need at least a dozen MPs from the opposition to back the move.

Opponents of the change, who had called for a boycott of the name-change referendum, announced plans for a celebration outside parliament, where they had set up a stage during the afternoon. However, barely 300 people gathered there an hour and a half after the polls closed.

The vote is an emotional moment for a country that has struggled for recognition of its name since 1991, when the former Yugoslav republic declared independence.

At the time, Athens kicked up a major fuss, accusing Skopje of stealing the name of its own northern province, which is also called Macedonia.

The dispute dives deep into history with both countries vying to lay claim to Alexander the Great's ancient empire of Macedon, which spanned their territories.

Zaev has billed the referendum as a painful but "historic" opportunity to break the 27-year-old stalemate.

The June deal, however, has been openly opposed by Macedonia's President Gjorge Ivanov, who is allied with the nationalist opposition and had supported calls for a boycott of the referendum.

Few Macedonians are enthused about the new name, saying they have been unfairly bullied by Greece.

"I am not happy and I do not know anyone who likes this deal," said 55-year old Danica Taneska, who admitted voting "no" to the change.

But a desire to anchor their future to the West -- and the economic prosperity that it could bring -- has been a driving force behind the "yes" vote in one of Europe's poorest nations.

The referendum is not binding, but a "yes" majority gives parliament a political mandate to change the constitution.

Sunday's vote was closely watched across the border in Greece, where nationalists staged a protest against the deal earlier this month.

"We hope for a positive outcome for the proceedings to progress with the constitutional review," Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said on the radio earlier.

"Any other result would create a disturbance."

Europe and the U.S. have campaigned hard for the deal, with many leaders passing through Skopje this month to urge Macedonians to seize the "historic" opportunity.

NATO has already issued an invite -- on hold until the deal passes -- while EU accession talks are scheduled to begin next year.

The West is keen to have another foothold in the Western Balkans, a region where Russia, which is opposed to NATO expansion, has historically had influence.

At home, those in favor of the deal say a desire for an EU future is helping bind ethnic Macedonians with the Albanian minority, who are broadly pro-West.

While Macedonia avoided the full-scale inter-ethnic wars that rippled across the region during the collapse of Yugoslavia, it was roiled by an Albanian insurgency in 2001 that left more than 100 dead.

A peace deal was reached later that year granting Albanians more political rights, but tensions have remained.</s>SKOPJE: Macedonia's prime minister vowed to push ahead with changing the country's name after voters approved it in a referendum, but the outcome looked uncertain Monday (Oct 1) as opponents said low turnout made the result void.

Premier Zoran Zaev wants to rename the Balkan state North Macedonia to end a long-running row with Greece and build ties with the West.

More than 90 per cent of the country's 1.8 million voters supported the name-change in Sunday's referendum, but only a third of the electorate turned out.

"More than 90 per cent of the total votes are 'yes', so now it is parliament's turn to confirm the will of the majority," Zaev said late Sunday.

But opponents of the move said the low turnout called the legitimacy of the referendum into doubt.

The head of the right-wing opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, Hristijan Mickoski, told reporters the government had "lost its legitimacy".

"RESPECT THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE"

Through the name change, Zaev aims to open a path to integration with the West by settling the decades-long dispute with Greece.

Greece has its own northern province named Macedonia and has accused its northern neighbour of territorial ambitions.

Zaev and his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras agreed in June on the name North Macedonia.

In return for the new name, Athens would drop its long-standing objections to the Balkan country joining the European Union and NATO.

Zaev now needs two-thirds of MPs to ratify the deal.

He has support from ethnic Albanian groups in his coalition but would also need to win over opposition lawmakers.

Mickoski said voters had responded to calls to boycott the referendum and called on the government to "respect the will of the people".

"More than 600,000 citizens voted 'yes'," read the front-page headline of the pro-government Sloboden Pecat newspaper.

"Referendum fails, Macedonia heads towards new elections," said the Vecer paper, which is close to the opposition.

For opponents, the vote was invalid under a constitutional provision requiring a 50 per cent turnout.

But Zaev insisted that because the referendum was only consultative a 50 per cent turnout was not needed.

The country has not held a census since 2002 and has a high emigration rate.

French Balkan specialist Loic Tregoures judged that the number of 1.8 million voters on the electoral roll was "inflated".

Zaev's ruling coalition has 69 MPs in the 120-strong assembly.

To gather the required two-thirds majority Zaev needs to convince at least a dozen MPs from the opposition to back the move.

If Zaev does not succeed he would have to call early elections in November.

"Zaev will not succeed in the parliament and we will soon have elections, which VMRO-DPMNE will lose," said political commentator Aco Abranov.

He recalled the party's poor results in the last election and internal wrangling since it lost power.

The EU on Monday hailed the vote as a step towards joining the bloc.

"This is a historic opportunity not only for reconciliation in the region, but also for decisively moving the country forward on its European Union path," EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini and enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn said in a statement.

Western powers have told Macedonia that if they want to join EU and NATO there is no plan B.

"NATO's door is open, but all national procedures have to be completed," the military alliance's secretary general Jens Stoltenberg tweeted.

Reactions to the vote were mixed in Greece, where the government has faced pressure from nationalists over the deal.

Tsipras's coalition partner Panos Kammenos, head of the nationalist Independent Greeks party, has threatened to defect from the government over the Macedonia deal.

The Greek parliament must also ratify the agreement.

The Greek government has said it "remains committed" to the June agreement.

But "time is running out since Tsipras has taken a lot of risks," analyst Tregoures warned.

"Nothing says that the next Greek government will be on the same line."</s>Sep 30, 2018 6:05PM (GMT 22:05) – 825 words

 By ELENA BECATOROS and KONSTANTIN TESTORIDES , Associated Press

SKOPJE, (AP) — A referendum on changing FYROM’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.

“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.

“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.”

“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.</s>SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia’s prime minister pledged on Sunday to press on with a vote in parliament to change the country’s name, although his coalition acknowledged a referendum appeared to have failed to secure the 50 percent turnout needed to make it legally valid.

The proposed name change is part of an agreement reached in June by pro-Western Prime Minister Zoran Zaev with Macedonia’s neighbor Greece to resolve a decades-old dispute that had prevented Macedonia from joining NATO or the EU.

With the official turnout tally stuck at 34 percent half an hour before polls closed, a ruling coalition official acknowledged that it seemed unlikely that the 50 percent threshold would be reached. The opposition said the low turnout proved that Macedonians had rejected the name change.

Election officials still had not updated the official turnout figure hours after polls shut. Partial results showed that the people who did vote overwhelmingly backed the name change — more than 90 percent voted yes with 63 percent of polling stations reporting.

But that had never been in doubt, since opponents of the change had urged followers not to vote, rather than vote no.

“It is clear that the agreement with Greece has not received the green light from the people,” main nationalist opposition VMRO-DPMNE party leader Hristiajn Mickoski told journalists.

In an address, Zaev made no mention of the turnout but said most people who had voted had backed the change and their votes must be respected. He pledged to hold a vote in parliament on the name change, and said he would call an early election if lawmakers failed to give it the two-thirds majority needed to change the constitution.

“I am determined to take Macedonia into the European Union and NATO,” Zaev said.

While the referendum is officially not binding, a failure to reach the turnout threshold would be a blow to Zaev.

The Greek foreign ministry said it respected the will of the people of the country, which it refers to by the provisional name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The referendum passed judgment on the agreement with Greece reached in June, under which Macedonia would change its name to the Republic of North Macedonia. Greece, which has a province called Macedonia, maintains that its northern neighbor’s name represents a claim on its territory.

Because of the dispute, Greece has vetoed Macedonia’s entrance into NATO and the EU. While a majority of Macedonians want to join NATO and the EU, nationalist opponents of the name change argued that it undermines the ethnic identity of Macedonia’s Slavic majority population.

The question on the referendum ballot read: “Are you for NATO and EU membership with acceptance of the agreement with Greece”.

“It is clear now that it (turnout) is unlikely to reach the threshold of 50 pct,” the ruling party official told Reuters.

Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos told Greek radio on Sunday: “We are looking forward to a positive result for the validation process to continue and to move to the next stage, the constitutional revision.”

Supporters of the name change argue that it is a price worth paying to pursue admission into bodies such as the EU and NATO.

“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.

But opponents said the name change represented national humiliation.

“We are for NATO and EU, but we want to join with our heads up, not through the service door,” said Vladimir Kavadarkov, who backed the referendum boycott. “We are a poor country, but we do have dignity.”</s>Macedonia’s electoral commission has announced that the Sunday referendum to change the Balkan country’s name to the Republic of Northern Macedonia has failed to pass the necessary 50 percent turnout threshold. "On this referendum it is clear that the decision has not been made," the head of the electoral board, Oliver Derkoski, said. With some 94 percent of the ballots counted, the turnout stays at 36 percent. Over 90 percent of them voted “yes” to the question: “Are you in favor of NATO and EU membership, and accepting the name agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and Greece?" Meanwhile, Macedonian PM Zoran Zaev said that the will of the people must be respected and approved by the Parliament despite the low turnout. Zaev said he would call for snap parliamentary elections if the lawmakers fail to deliver. The deal with Greece, agreed in June this year, proposes name change in return for the lifting of the Greek veto on Macedonia’s NATO and EU membership. EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn has already voiced support to the referendum, calling on all parties to “to respect this decision and take it forward with utmost responsibility and unity across party lines.”

to RT newsletter to get stories the mainstream media won’t tell you.</s>SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia held a referendum on Sunday on whether to change its name to ‘Republic of North Macedonia’, a move that would resolve a decades-old name 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 neighbour’s name represents a claim on its territory and has vetoed its entrance into NATO and the EU.

Athens and Skopje struck a deal in June based on the proposed new name, but nationalist opponents argue the change would undermine the ethnic identity of the country’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 for admission into the EU and NATO.

“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.

The state election commission said there had been no reports of irregularities in the fist two hours of the vote. Turnout stood at 2.45 percent.

“I came out to vote because of my children, our place is in Europe,” said Gjose Tanevski, 62 voter in Skopje.

In front of the parliament in Skopje, Vladimir Kavardarkov, 54, was preparing a small stage and pulling up chairs in front of tents set up by those who will boycott the referendum.

“We are for NATO and EU, but we want to join with our heads up, not through the service door” Kavadarkov said. “We are a poor country, but we do have dignity.”

“If they (NATO and EU) don’t want to take us as Macedonia, we can turn to others like China and Russia and become part of Euro-Asia integration.”

Prime Minister Zaev says NATO membership will bring much needed investment to Macedonia, which has an unemployment rate of more than 20 percent.

“I believe the huge majority will be in favour because more than 80 percent of our citizens are in favour of EU and NATO,” Zaev said after casting his ballot.

He said that a “yes” result would be “confirmation of our future.”

A poll published on Monday by Macedonia’s Institute for Policy Research (IPIS) said between 30 and 43 percent of voters would take part in the referendum - below the required turnout.

Another poll, conducted by Macedonia’s Telma TV, found 57 percent of respondents planning to vote on Sunday. Of those, 70 percent said they would vote yes.</s>SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — 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.

"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.

"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."

"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.</s>SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia held a referendum on Sunday on whether to change its name to ‘Republic of North Macedonia’, a move that would resolve a decades-old name 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 neighbour’s name represents a claim on its territory and has vetoed its entrance into NATO and the EU.

Athens and Skopje struck a deal in June based on the proposed new name, but nationalist opponents argue the change would undermine the ethnic identity of the country’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 for admission into the EU and NATO.

“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.

The state election commission said there had been no reports of irregularities in the fist two hours of the vote. Turnout stood at 2.45 percent.

“I came out to vote because of my children, our place is in Europe,” said Gjose Tanevski, 62 voter in Skopje.

In front of the parliament in Skopje, Vladimir Kavardarkov, 54, was preparing a small stage and pulling up chairs in front of tents set up by those who will boycott the referendum.

“We are for NATO and EU, but we want to join with our heads up, not through the service door” Kavadarkov said. “We are a poor country, but we do have dignity.”

“If they (NATO and EU) don’t want to take us as Macedonia, we can turn to others like China and Russia and become part of Euro-Asia integration.”

Prime Minister Zaev says NATO membership will bring much needed investment to Macedonia, which has an unemployment rate of more than 20 percent.

“I believe the huge majority will be in favour because more than 80 percent of our citizens are in favour of EU and NATO,” Zaev said after casting his ballot.

He said that a “yes” result would be “confirmation of our future.”

A poll published on Monday by Macedonia’s Institute for Policy Research (IPIS) said between 30 and 43 percent of voters would take part in the referendum - below the required turnout.

Another poll, conducted by Macedonia’s Telma TV, found 57 percent of respondents planning to vote on Sunday. Of those, 70 percent said they would vote yes.</s>Voters in Macedonia took to the polls on Sunday to decide on a controversial referendum on whether to change the name of their country — a move that would pave the way for entry into NATO and the European Union. But low voter turnout could threaten the validity of the outcome.

Half an hour before polls were to close, voter turnout stood at 34 percent, according to the Associated Press. That figure was based on data from 85 percent of polling stations, according to State Electoral Commission head Oliver Derkoski.

Under the Macedonian Constitution, if turnout is less than 50 percent, the results of the referendum would not be binding.

Macedonians are voting whether to change their country's name to North Macedonia. Greece's refusal to recognize Macedonia as a country has barred it from participating in both NATO and the EU. Greece insists Macedonia designate itself as "North" to differentiate the country from Greece's own province of Macedonia, the birthplace of Alexander the Great. The dispute goes back to the early 1990s, when Macedonia declared its independence from Yugoslavia.

The ballot question asks: "Are you in favor of membership in NATO and the European Union by accepting the deal between the Republic of Macedonia and Republic of Greece?"

"I invite everyone to come out and make this serious decision for the future of our country, for future generations," Macedonia's prime minister, Zoran Zaev, said, according to the AP. Zaev has been at the forefront of negotiations with Greece's prime minister, Alexis Tsipras.

In June, after months of negotiations, Greece and Macedonia reached an agreement under certain conditions: Macedonian would add "North" to the country's name, while Greece would drop objections to Macedonia's NATO membership.

The European Commission released a statement in June saying: "We wholeheartedly congratulate Prime Ministers Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev for their determination and leadership in reaching this historic agreement between their countries, which contributes to the transformation of the entire region of South-East Europe."

But protesters in Macedonia have been pushing for a boycott. Notable critics of the referendum include Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov, who called the agreement a "flagrant violation of sovereignty," the AP reports.

One referendum protester in Macedonia told NPR's Joanna Kakissis, "It is not dignified, it is humiliating, that I must not call myself a Macedonian, the only name I have for myself, and for my ancestors, and for my children, only because of a political deal and a diplomatic deal."

If the referendum passes, it would end the two countries' almost three-decade-long dispute. According to the AP, if the referendum does not pass, Zaev has said he would resign and the deal with Greece would end.</s>SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia held a referendum on Sunday on whether to change its name to ‘Republic of North Macedonia’, a move that would resolve a decades-old name 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 neighbour’s name represents a claim on its territory and has vetoed its entrance into NATO and the EU.

Athens and Skopje struck a deal in June based on the proposed new name, but nationalist opponents argue the change would undermine the ethnic identity of the country’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 for admission into the EU and NATO.

“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.

The state election commission said there had been no reports of irregularities in the fist two hours of the vote. Turnout stood at 2.45 percent.

“I came out to vote because of my children, our place is in Europe,” said Gjose Tanevski, 62 voter in Skopje.

In front of the parliament in Skopje, Vladimir Kavardarkov, 54, was preparing a small stage and pulling up chairs in front of tents set up by those who will boycott the referendum.

“We are for NATO and EU, but we want to join with our heads up, not through the service door” Kavadarkov said. “We are a poor country, but we do have dignity.”

“If they (NATO and EU) don’t want to take us as Macedonia, we can turn to others like China and Russia and become part of Euro-Asia integration.”

Prime Minister Zaev says NATO membership will bring much needed investment to Macedonia, which has an unemployment rate of more than 20 percent.

“I believe the huge majority will be in favour because more than 80 percent of our citizens are in favour of EU and NATO,” Zaev said after casting his ballot.

He said that a “yes” result would be “confirmation of our future.”

A poll published on Monday by Macedonia’s Institute for Policy Research (IPIS) said between 30 and 43 percent of voters would take part in the referendum - below the required turnout.

Another poll, conducted by Macedonia’s Telma TV, found 57 percent of respondents planning to vote on Sunday. Of those, 70 percent said they would vote yes.
A referendum is held in the Republic of Macedonia on whether to change the country's name in order to join NATO and the EU.