Polls Open in Fateful Macedonian 'Name' Referendum

A total of 3,480 polling stations opened at 7am on Sunday for the referendum in Macedonia in which some 1.8 million voters will have the right to decide whether or not they support the "name" agreement reached this summer with Greece.

Voters will have to answer the question: "Do you support EU and NATO membership by accepting the deal between Macedonia and Greece?"

Under a deal signed with Greece this summer, Macedonia agreed to change its name to the Republic of North Macedonia, while Greece agreed to lift its long-standing veto on Macedonia's NATO and EU integration.

A "Yes" vote would give the green light to MPs to change Macedonia's constitution and so enforce use of the new name.

If this happens, Macedonia can expect an invitation to join the NATO alliance as soon as next year. It also hopes to start long overdue EU accession talks as of next summer.

If voters oppose the agreement, most observers agree that the country can say goodbye to any immediate hopes of joining the EU and NATO, leaving only a very vague prospect of having another opportunity to solve the long-standing dispute with Greece in the near future.

The success of the government-backed referendum depends also on the size of the turnout.

More than 50 per cent of all voters, or more 900,000 people, must turn out for the plebiscite to be deemed legally valid.

If that happens, and if most voters back the agreement, the "Yes" camp led by the country's Social Democratic Prime Minister, Zoran Zaev, is expected to have an easier time persuading the opposition MPs to support the required constitutional changes.

Uncertainty over the turnout remains high due to concerns that the electoral roll is inaccurate, is...