On September 23^rd Macedonia President Gjorge Ivanov called upon voters to boycott the high stakes name-change referendum which would change the name from the Republic of Macedonia to the Republic of North Macedonia. President Ivanov told the UN General Assembly last week, “On September 30, I will not go out and vote and I know that you, my fellow citizens, will make a similarly wise decision,” and also stated that “voting in a referendum is a right, not an obligation.” Since Macedonia’s independence 27 years ago, Greece has voiced its distaste for their chosen name. The recent efforts to change the nation’s name have mostly been headed by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev of Macedonia, who was elected into office in June 2017. Macedonia is split on the subject of name-change, many Macedonians side with the Prime Minister, however, a great deal side with President Ivanov. In his statement on Sunday, President Ivanov went as far as stating a change in name would be, “harmful and defeating,” according to Al Jazeera.

The referendum was a result of an agreement  between Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and Tsipras of Greece; Zaev has been advocating for a name-change for Macedonia since coming to the agreement with Greece back in June. President Ivanov vetoed the Zaev-Tsipras agreement immediately after it was initially voted through by Macedonian legislators, “but he was obliged to approve the referendum the following month after a second vote in parliament,” according to Al Jazeera. According to BBC News, Greece agreed that upon the name-change of Macedonia, from the Republic of Macedonia to Republic of North Macedonia that they would, “end its veto on Macedonia’s accession to NATO and the EU.” While many Macedonian’s do not wish to change their nation’s name, they also value membership of NATO and the EU, this is what Prime Minister Zaev tried to stress over and over again, telling BBC News, “we don’t change our name because we want to do it…we do it because of our future in the EU and NATO. Everyone is aware why we do it.” However, despite the understood importance of membership in these organizations to advance the prosperity of Macedonia, President Ivanov’s call to his “compatriots” to boycott the referendum, voting may have halted the expected name-change. As votes continued to come in, through the evening of September 30^th voter turnout was unexpectedly low, around 36% according to BBC News.

In this battle between advancement and identity, the position of both sides can be seen and understood. The name chosen upon Macedonia’s independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991 was immediately rejected by their southern neighbor, Greece. Greece, which has a northern province bordering the new country which dons the same name, stalled the nation’s efforts to join any international institutions. Macedonia which has created an identity for itself and its people collectively does not wish to change their name because it is a symbol of their independence. Aside from stalling their admission to both the EU and NATO, Greece also blocked their membership to the UN until the adoption of a provisional name, the Former Yugoslavia Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), according to the Mail and Guardian. Having knowledge of these past events, the world awaited the passing of the referendum on September 30^th, however, it seems that the other group, those that value identity as most important, may have won out through the under-representation of voters (attendance of 50% at the polls was needed to pass the name-change referendum).

To provide some perspective on the relationship between Greece and Macedonia, in 1991 upon Macedonia’s independence from the former Yugoslavia, they immediately disputed the formal name of the Republic of Macedonia and blocked any attempt to claim membership in international organizations. Finally, in 1993 Macedonia was allowed into the UN under the provisional name of Former Yugoslavia Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), and then the following year Greece imposed several economic embargos against the young nation, completely cutting them off from their main port. One year after the embargos were imposed they were lifted but only upon the change of the Macedonia flag which according to the the Mail and Guardian displayed the “rayed sun of Verginia,” an ancient Greek symbol. In 2005, Macedonia became a candidate for membership in the EU, and a candidate for NATO in 2008, but was blocked by Greece yet again. The always looming name of “Republic of Macedonia” became the new bargaining chip, Greece claiming the name as a part of their historical heritage and that the young nation may be “harboring territorial ambitions,” according to the Mail and Guardian.

Now, as votes are counted, it seems that the referendum may have failed to pass for now. According to BBC News, “preliminary results show that just over a third of Macedonians voted in the referendum, with 50% needed.” However, despite low voter turnout, it seems that of those that cast a vote, about 90% were in favor of a “European Macedonia” and voted yes to the name change. Although, the future is always unknown, Prime Minister Zaev remained optimistic as the polls were closed stating in an interview “If, as we all expect, we truly have a big visible, tangible majority for [voting in favor], out of those who voted, then the future is clear,” according to BBC News.