A sober assessment of the FYROM referendum outcome

According to the results of the recent referendum in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on its name deal with Greece, out of a total of about 661 thousand votes, 91.5 percent were in favor of the deal, compared to 5.6 percent who voted "no," while 2.8 percent of all ballots cast were invalid. The turnout was 37 percent out of a total of approximately 1.8 million citizens registered in the electoral rolls.

The outcome of the referendum leaves room for political parties in both countries to interpret the result as they please, in a way that serves their existing positions.

In particular, FYROM Prime Minister Zoran Zaev placed emphasis on the massive percentage of "yes" votes, claiming that "in democracies, the citizens who decide are those who vote." On the other hand, Hristijan Mickoski, the leader of the main opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, emphasized the low...