Macedonia, Deputy Prime Minister Osmani: New name will be placed in Parliament

Macedonia failed to close the issue of changing its name by referendum today. The percentage of voters after the boxes were closed did not seem to exceed the legal limit for referenda.
This Sunday, at 7: 00 a.m., 1.8 million voters were called to answer the question of whether they are for NATO and EU membership by accepting the agreement with Greece? Likely, half a million Macedonian citizens participated in the referendum.

Those opposed called for a boycott. But what happens to the agreement? Macedonia's government number two, Bujar Osmani, gave this explanation: “Today we had consultative referenda to get the opinion of most citizens on the agreement with Greece. This exit to the polls we had today, about 40%, gives full legitimacy to the agreement with Greece.

The participation of Albanians and Macedonians in this referendum has no great difference. For the number 2 of Macedonia's government, the referendum has problems with the provision and cleanup of lists.

The concept issue is more technical, cleaning up the voter list. We are testing the will of citizens, and the information is that 80% has voted for the” agreement, Osman explained.

Following this Sunday's vote, where the European Union and NATO had been invested, the challenge for the issue of Macedonia's new name will be faced in Parliament, where this deputy prime minister also calls on responsible opposition voices to vote on constitutional changes.

What will happen in Macedonia in the days to come? That is unclear, but clearly the determination to move towards resolving the issue that held Macedonia's entry into NATO, its name, hostage. The agreement with Greece was a major step, but not the end of efforts.

In Macedonia, the currents against the country's entry into Euro-Atlantic structures are strong, and they caused the first riots recently, when Parliament was also attacked. /Albeu