VMRO-DPMNE party

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.

AFP - Macedonia's government vowed Monday to push ahead with changing the country's name to appease Greece and build ties with the West, but opponents said low turnout in a referendum on the move made it illegitimate.

Premier Zoran Zaev wants to rename the Balkan state North Macedonia to end a long-running row with Athens and open a path to EU and NATO membership.

Ahead of Sunday's crucial referendum on changing the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), the country's political leadership gave conflicting messages to its citizens Thursday, with President Gjorge Ivanov calling for a boycott and Prime Minister Zoran Zaev urging people to get out and vote.

The Council of Europe's anti-corruption group says the performance of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on preventing corruption is "clearly disappointing," and is calling on authorities to take action.

The referendum also concerns confirming an agreement reached between Skopje and Athens to rename the former Yugoslav Republic into "the Republic of North Macedonia."

The prime minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has announced the question his country's citizens will face in a referendum this fall on a recent deal with Greece changing the country's name to "North Macedonia."

The Parliament of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) has ratified a deal with neighboring Greece signed last weekend to end a decades-long dispute over the Balkan country's name. 

Serbia remains the only Balkan state which has not yet publicly congratulated its neighbour Macedonia and Greece on their signing on Sunday of a landmark agreement aimed at finally resolving their decades-long dispute over Macedonia's name.

A judge who sentenced the former prime minister of Macedonia, Nikola Gruevski, to two years in jail last month has been under 24-hour police protection for the past two weeks due to threats made against her, Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski said on Friday.

Beta is reporting this on Monday, citing the website Euractiv.

Orban on Saturday sent a video message to a rally in Skopje of nationalist opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, praising its refusal to bend "under pressure from foreign powers."

Macedonian President Gjorje Ivanov (VMRO-DPMNE) is also opposed to a reaching a compromise with Greece.