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2018 Macedonian referendum
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2018 Macedonian referendum
A referendum was held in the Republic of Macedonia on 30 September 2018, with voters asked whether they supported EU and NATO membership by accepting the Prespa Agreement between Macedonia and Greece, signed in June 2018, which aimed to settle the 27-year naming dispute, which had prevented Macedonia from joining both the European Union and NATO. The government, a coalition between the Social Democratic Union and the Democratic Union for Integration led by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, strongly supported the agreement and encouraged a 'Yes' vote in the referendum. The opposition, led by the conservative and eurosceptic VMRO-DPMNE, rejected the agreement and encouraged voters to vote 'No'.
Despite 94% of voters voting in favour, voter turnout was around 37%, less than the 50% threshold required to validate the results. Both the opposition and government claimed victory, with the opposition claiming that the proposal had been rejected by virtue of the low turnout and the government argued that the result being non-binding meant the turnout requirement was irrelevant. As the referendum was non-binding and included constitutional changes, it also had to be ratified by two-thirds of the Assembly of the Republic. Zaev vowed to push forward with the changes in the Assembly, which was achieved on 19 October 2018, when 80 of the 120 MPs voted in favour of the renaming proposal, narrowly reaching the two-thirds majority required.
After the independence of the Republic of Macedonia from SFR Yugoslavia in 1991, successive Greek governments claimed that the name of the country implied territorial claims to the Greek part of the region of Macedonia and objected to the use of "Macedonia" by the newly independent state. The state was admitted to the United Nations in 1993 with the provisional reference "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", while most countries recognised the Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name.
Repeated attempts to negotiate a composite name failed for almost three decades. However, in 2018, high-level contacts between the governments of the two countries intensified, with Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister Bujar Osmani visiting Athens for name talks on 9 January, and Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev meeting with his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland on 24 January. At the Davos meeting, the first of its kind in seven years, there appeared to be some resolution between the two leaders to end the name dispute and improve the relations between the two countries. Zaev agreed to take initiatives that would soothe Greek concerns over the antiquisation policy, while Tsipras agreed to consent to Macedonia's bid to join regional initiatives or agreements.
On 12 June 2018, Tsipras announced that he had reached an agreement with Zaev "which covers all the preconditions set by the Greek side." The negotiations would result in the Republic of Macedonia being renamed the Republic of North Macedonia, with the new name being used for all purposes. Zaev announced that the agreement included recognition of the Macedonian language in the United Nations and that the term used for nationality of the country would be Macedonian/citizen of the Republic of North Macedonia. "The agreement once and for always confirms and strengthens the Macedonian ethnic and cultural identity, the Macedonian language, the Macedonian nationality. It guarantees the security of the country and provides a secure future for the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia", Zaev said. Additionally, the agreement stipulates removal of the Vergina Sun from public use in the Republic of Macedonia and formation of a committee for the review of school textbooks and maps in both countries for the removal of irredentist content and to align them with UNESCO and Council of Europe's standards. The agreement was signed at Lake Prespa, a body of water shared between Albania, Greece and North Macedonia from which it got its name.
The agreement stipulated that the Macedonian government could hold a referendum on the matter. The Assembly of the Republic paved the way for the referendum by ratifying the agreement for a second time in early July. After a month long delay by the opposition party VMRO-DPMNE to slow down the referendum preparation by not appointing members to the State Election Commission, the Assembly finally agreed as of the end of July on a new composition. The Assembly set aside 1.3 million euros for the referendum campaign and as the VMRO-DPMNE opposition refused to participate and access funds, only 900,000 euros was spent on 66 media outlets by politicians supporting a yes vote.
Political scientist Biljana Vankovska claimed that the referendum was unconstitutional, noting that Article 73 of the constitution required referendums to be binding.
The text of the question put to voters was:
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2018 Macedonian referendum
A referendum was held in the Republic of Macedonia on 30 September 2018, with voters asked whether they supported EU and NATO membership by accepting the Prespa Agreement between Macedonia and Greece, signed in June 2018, which aimed to settle the 27-year naming dispute, which had prevented Macedonia from joining both the European Union and NATO. The government, a coalition between the Social Democratic Union and the Democratic Union for Integration led by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, strongly supported the agreement and encouraged a 'Yes' vote in the referendum. The opposition, led by the conservative and eurosceptic VMRO-DPMNE, rejected the agreement and encouraged voters to vote 'No'.
Despite 94% of voters voting in favour, voter turnout was around 37%, less than the 50% threshold required to validate the results. Both the opposition and government claimed victory, with the opposition claiming that the proposal had been rejected by virtue of the low turnout and the government argued that the result being non-binding meant the turnout requirement was irrelevant. As the referendum was non-binding and included constitutional changes, it also had to be ratified by two-thirds of the Assembly of the Republic. Zaev vowed to push forward with the changes in the Assembly, which was achieved on 19 October 2018, when 80 of the 120 MPs voted in favour of the renaming proposal, narrowly reaching the two-thirds majority required.
After the independence of the Republic of Macedonia from SFR Yugoslavia in 1991, successive Greek governments claimed that the name of the country implied territorial claims to the Greek part of the region of Macedonia and objected to the use of "Macedonia" by the newly independent state. The state was admitted to the United Nations in 1993 with the provisional reference "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", while most countries recognised the Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name.
Repeated attempts to negotiate a composite name failed for almost three decades. However, in 2018, high-level contacts between the governments of the two countries intensified, with Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister Bujar Osmani visiting Athens for name talks on 9 January, and Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev meeting with his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland on 24 January. At the Davos meeting, the first of its kind in seven years, there appeared to be some resolution between the two leaders to end the name dispute and improve the relations between the two countries. Zaev agreed to take initiatives that would soothe Greek concerns over the antiquisation policy, while Tsipras agreed to consent to Macedonia's bid to join regional initiatives or agreements.
On 12 June 2018, Tsipras announced that he had reached an agreement with Zaev "which covers all the preconditions set by the Greek side." The negotiations would result in the Republic of Macedonia being renamed the Republic of North Macedonia, with the new name being used for all purposes. Zaev announced that the agreement included recognition of the Macedonian language in the United Nations and that the term used for nationality of the country would be Macedonian/citizen of the Republic of North Macedonia. "The agreement once and for always confirms and strengthens the Macedonian ethnic and cultural identity, the Macedonian language, the Macedonian nationality. It guarantees the security of the country and provides a secure future for the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia", Zaev said. Additionally, the agreement stipulates removal of the Vergina Sun from public use in the Republic of Macedonia and formation of a committee for the review of school textbooks and maps in both countries for the removal of irredentist content and to align them with UNESCO and Council of Europe's standards. The agreement was signed at Lake Prespa, a body of water shared between Albania, Greece and North Macedonia from which it got its name.
The agreement stipulated that the Macedonian government could hold a referendum on the matter. The Assembly of the Republic paved the way for the referendum by ratifying the agreement for a second time in early July. After a month long delay by the opposition party VMRO-DPMNE to slow down the referendum preparation by not appointing members to the State Election Commission, the Assembly finally agreed as of the end of July on a new composition. The Assembly set aside 1.3 million euros for the referendum campaign and as the VMRO-DPMNE opposition refused to participate and access funds, only 900,000 euros was spent on 66 media outlets by politicians supporting a yes vote.
Political scientist Biljana Vankovska claimed that the referendum was unconstitutional, noting that Article 73 of the constitution required referendums to be binding.
The text of the question put to voters was:
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