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AFP - Macedonian voters backed a plan to rename the country aimed at ending a decades-long spat with Greece and unlocking a path to NATO and EU membership, with the West welcoming the result although the referendum was marred by low turnout.
With ballots from 93 percent of polling stations counted, 91.3 percent of votes cast Sunday favoured the name changing to North Macedonia, compared to 5.7 percent opposed, according to the electoral commission's official count.
However, only a third of the 1.8 million-strong electorate voted.
The ballot was closely watched by Greece, which said it "remains committed" to its June agreement with Skopje under which Athens would drop its objections to Macedonia joining the EU and NATO in return for a change of name.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras expressed his support for his Macedonian counterpart in a telephone call in which he hailed the "determination and courage" of Zoran Zaev to "complete the implementation of this agreement", a government source told AFP.
The European Union urged all sides to respect the result and NATO head Jens Stoltenberg said on Twitter it was a "historic opportunity", adding: "NATO's door is open."
Washington also welcomed the outcome, with the State Department urging lawmakers "to rise above partisan politics and seize this historic opportunity to secure a brighter future for the country as a full participant in Western institutions".
The non-binding referendum on renaming Macedonia needs to be ratified in parliament by a two-thirds majority and also given the stamp of approval by the Greek parliament.
Zaev and his coalition partners from the ethnic Albanian minority will need at least a dozen MPs from the opposition to back the move.
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