Macedonia leader faces political battle on name deal

SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) " Macedonia's government faced a looming political battle Monday to push through a deal with Greece that would ultimately pave the way for NATO membership, after a referendum on the agreement won overwhelming support but with low voter turnout.

The European Union, NATO and the U.S. urged the country to move forward with the necessary procedures. Macedonia's international partners have been eager to see the Balkan nation join international institutions, in a region where Russia hasn't been keen on NATO picking up new members.

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev declared Sunday's referendum a success, noting more than 90 percent of voters approved of the deal that would change the country's name to North Macedonia.

He said he would now move forward with the next step, which is to seek a two-thirds majority in the 120-member parliament for required constitutional amendments.

If he fails, he said he would have no other choice than to call an early election.

But opponents of the deal with Greece, who say it undermines national interests and had advocated for a boycott of the referendum, seized on the low turnout to interpret the result as a clear rejection of the agreement.

Near complete results Monday showed 91.4 percent voted in favor, with a turnout of 36.8 percent.

Political analyst Petar Arsovski said that the referendum's outcome would deepen divisions in Macedonia.

"Unfortunately, as opposed to providing closure, the referendum still leaves the country in turmoil," Arsovski said, noting that on the one hand an overwhelming majority of those who voted approved of the deal, but turnout was low.

"I think it would be very difficult for the prime minister to reach the deal with the opposition lawmakers over the constitutional changes and to continue with the next phase," Arsovski said. "I think Macedonia is entering into uncertainty and that the crisis will deepen."

The main opposition conservative VMRO-DPMNE party reiterated its interpretation of the vote's result as being a clear rejection of the deal with Greece.

"The people have clearly sent a message to Zaev that he has no legitimacy to push this deal. Instead of manipulating he should face the reality and reject this agreement, which is at the expense of the Republic of Macedonia," it said in a statement Monday.

Macedonia's international partners called for parliamentary support for the deal.

"We urge leaders to rise above partisan politics and seize this historic opportunity to secure a brighter future for the country as a full participant in Western institutions," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said .

EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn tweeted that he expects "all political leaders to respect this decision and take it forward with utmost responsibility and unity across party lines."

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged the country's politicians "to engage constructively and responsibly to seize this historic opportunity."

He said on Twitter that NATO's door was still open to Macedonia "but all national procedures have to be completed."

The June deal with Greece 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.

But the agreement 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.

Even if Zaev manages to win parliamentary support for the constitutional amendments, the deal faces other hurdles before it can be finalized.

Once Macedonia amends its constitution to ensure it doesn't contain anything that could be considered irredentist against Greece, the deal must be ratified by Greek parliament.

But Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras faces problems of his own. His governing coalition partner, the right-wing Independent Greeks, oppose the deal and have vowed to vote against it, leaving him reliant on opposition support.

On the streets of the Macedonian capital, emotions were mixed.

"I am not satisfied with the results. I think that people should have come out to vote and have their say, said Skopje resident Alessandra Petrovski. "I think it is irresponsible that someone boycotts. And that's it, we will remain isolated."

Another resident noted the ball was now in the opposition party's court.

"We will see. It depends on the opposition now," Tanja Cvetkovska said. "If it does not pass through parliament, I don't know, as they said then we have extraordinary elections."

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Lorne Cook in Brussels, and Ivana Bzganovic in Skopje, contributed to this report.