Only 2500 voters of the diaspora will participate in the referendum

[url]https://nezavisen.mk/en/news/2018/08/82165/[/url]

A small number of migrant workers who live abroad have registered their name in order to vote in the September 30th referendum regarding the issue of the country’s name.

Yesterday, the country’s State Election Commission received 2437 demands from migrant workers who live abroad.

This shows that their number is very small and that the diaspora is not very interested on voting in the referendum.

The largest number of migrant workers who have demanded to vote live in Bern with 256 demands, Ljubjana with 213, London with 127, Toronto with 136, Vienna with 108, Canberra with 99, etc.

The diaspora will vote on September 29th in embassies and other diplomatic centers.

In the last meeting that it held, the government approved the decision to allocate 80 million denars for the referendum campaign, which will be organized by the parliament and government.

On September 30th, citizens in Macedonia will decide if they are in favour of the country’s accession in the NATO and EU by accepting the country’s new name, “North Macedonia”, which came out of the Prespa agreement signed between Skopje and Athens.

[url]http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/macedonia-opposition-decides-whether-to-join-referendum-campaign-08-24-2018[/url]

[B]Macedonia Opposition Torn Over Referendum Campaign Cash[/B]

Macedonia’s main opposition party remains undecided about whether to participate in the historic referendum on September 30 – and tap into the funds allocated for campaigns

Macedonia’s main opposition VMRO DPMNE party is in a dilemma over whether to tap into the 1.3 million euros that parliament has set aside for campaigning for the September 30 “name” referendum. It has until the end of Monday to officially make up its mind.

A deadline issued by parliament speaker Talat Xhaferi last Thursday told the country’s 120 legislators to notify him within three working days about whether they will take part in the campaign – and which option they will represent.

Under the so-called “name” deal with Greece, signed 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.

But for the deal on this ancient dispute to be fully implemented, Macedonians must show they support it in a referendum due on September 30.

VMRO DPMNE, which holds 40 of the 120 seats in parliament, has strongly opposed the name agreement, calling it a national defeat.

But so far it has avoided clarifying whether it will call on its supporters to vote against the deal, campaign for a boycott, or just stand aside.

On Sunday, VMRO DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickovski again failed to clarify the party's standpoint.

[U]However, he said his party wished to redirect the funds it was entitled to get from parliament to finance a school renovation in the town of Tetovo, which he called a "more important” project.[/U]

“I use this occasion to appeal to the government, and to the other parties as well, to redirect these funds for reconstruction and building of a high school in Tetovo,” Mickovski said on Sunday.

This contrasted with what several VMRO DPMNE MPs have already done, however. On Friday and over the weekend, they applied for the cash, saying they intended to use it to campaign for a boycott.

Most prominent among them was Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki.

“Such an option was announced … Why not use some of this money, because what the government will present about the agreement [during the campaign] won’t correspond with reality?” VMRO DPMNE spokesperson Naum Stoilkovski said on Friday, concerning Milososki’s move.

On Friday, Speaker Xhaferi clarified that individual MPs, parliamentary groups or coalitions have equal rights to apply for their share of the money, regardless of whether they will back the referendum question, campaign against it, or call for a boycott.

After calculating how much money should go on each option, parliament, as the official proposer of the referendum, will buy advertisement space from broadcasters, dedicated to the campaign.

[U]According to the state Electoral Commission, all other non-parliamentary parties or groups that wish to lead their own campaigns will have to do so under much higher commercial prices for advertisements.[/U]

The government, led by the Social Democrats, which signed the name deal, has launched its own campaign in support of the referendum already.

But government spokesperson Mile Bosnjakovski insisted that most of it will be run through social media and government activities, [U]so the campaign price tag will be insignificant and won’t exceed a few thousand euros[/U]

One month to go. Latest numbers.

URL:
[url]https://www.24.mk/anketa-za-makedonija-golema-poddrshka-za-eu-i-nato-pred-referendumot[/url]

[B]Анкета за Македонија: Голема поддршка за ЕУ и НАТО пред референдумот[/B]

29.08.2018

[B]Се зголемува поддршката на граѓаните за земјата да стане членка на ЕУ и Нато, ова го покажува анкетата на Меѓународниот републикански институт ИРИ, спроведеноа во периодот од 28 јуни до 15 јули годинава, преку лични интервјуа спроведуивани на 1.100 испитаници.[/B]

На прашањето, колку граѓаните го поддржуваат предлогот земјава да стане член на ЕУ и НАТО како Северена Република Македонија, како практично е највено дека ќе гласи и референумдското прашање, [B][U]повеќе од половината односно 57 отсто се изјасниле дека даваат поддршка[/U], со тоа што 37 проценти рекле дека целосно го поддржуваат договорот додека, 20 проценти дека донекаде го поддржуваат. Негативо за ова прашање се изјасниле 38 проценти, односно 28 отсто целосно го одбиваат, а 10 отсто донекаде го одбиваат, договорот.[/B]

По однос на прашањето како ќе гласаат на референдумот [B]49 отсто се изјасниле дека ќе гласаат „за“, додека 22 отсто дека ќе гласаат „против“, и 16 отсто дека нема да гласаат.[/B]

Дополнително 25 отсто од испитаниците сметаат дека сега е вистинско време да се реши прашањето со Грција, додека 17 отсто сметаатд ека тоа треба да се решава во иднина, н високи 44 отсто сметаат дека ова прашање требало да се реши многу порано.

Изминатите месеци се зголемила поддршката за влез на земјава во ЕУ и НАТО, па така сега 83 отсто од испитаниците даваат поддршка за влез во ЕУ, додека во март минатата година била 72 отсто. За влез во НАТО поддршка сега даваат 77 проценти а во март лани била 71 отсто.

Во однос на прашањето за која партија би гласале граѓаните ако денеска се одржат избори, 21 отсто од испитаниците се изјасниле дека ќе гласаат за СДСМ, а 18 отсто за ВМРО-ДПМНЕ. Со тоа што во однос на август минатата година, кај СДСМ има благо зголемување, а кај ВМРО ДПМНЕ намалување на поддрката. ДУИ останува со истата поддржка од 7 отсто, како и минатата година. Додека пак процентот на неопределени е 19, и е намален од лани кога изнесувал 22 отсто.

Анкетата покажува дека граѓанија најмногу се загрижени за економијата, невработеноста, сиромаштијата, нискиот животен стандард, плати и пензии. Но очекувањата се дека во следните години состојбата ќе се промени на подобро.

Анкетата дополнително укажува дека испитаниците сметаат дека владата предводена од СДСМ е подобра од таа на ВМРО ДПМНЕ само во однос на надворешната полтика, додека во однос на владеење на право, борба против корупоцијата, организиран криминал, е иста како испитаниците сметаат дека оваа влада е иста како и претходната.

Рејтингот на премиерот Зоран Заев е зголемен. Односно од ланските 10, сега изнесува 16 отсто од испитаниците се изјасниле дека им е омилен политчар. Христијан Мицковски има рејтинг од 2 отсто, додека пак пад на рејтингот има Никола Груевски, од ланските 16 отсто, сега наклонестот кон него покажале 7 отсто од испитаниците, а пад на рејтингот има и претседателот Горѓе Иванов.

Macedonia Is Getting a New Name (Sort Of)

by KEN JENNINGS, August 27, 2018

URL:
[url]https://www.cntraveler.com/story/macedonia-is-getting-a-new-name-sort-of[/url]

Two months ago at Lake Prespa, on the northern Greek border, Macedonian prime minister Zoran Zaev emerged from talks with Greece and announced an agreement to change his country's name to "North Macedonia." National name changes are rare, but this was the second one to hit headlines in just a couple of months. And that little added "North" looks innocent enough, but this name change is more fraught than most.

Greece is very protective of Alexander the Great's brand.

The nation of Macedonia was the "Socialist Republic of Macedonia," the southernmost of the six constituent republics of Yugoslavia, from 1945 to 1991. Yugoslavia's Marshal Tito may have chosen the name to antagonize Greece, which takes a very proprietary attitude to the name "Macedonia." To Greeks, you see, Macedonia is a historical region in northern Greece, the ancient home of Philip of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great.

Macedonia is being blackballed over its name.

Ancient Macedon did indeed extend north into what is today the southern third of the Kingdom of Macedonia. But Greece viewed Macedonia's name as cultural appropriation, especially when right-wingers in Macedonia renamed the Skopje airport after Alexander the Great. Greece insisted that the United Nations officially refer to Macedonia as the "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia," or FYROM, and has vetoed their neighbors' entrance into NATO and the EU for the past decade.

The "North" name change could still go south.

Greece and Macedonia have been quietly negotiating the name squabble for years, discussing options like "Upper Macedonia," "New Macedonia," and "Ilinden Macedonia" (named for a 1903 uprising against the Ottomans). As an olive branch, Skopje even took the aforementioned "Alexander the Great" signage off its airport earlier this year. But the "North Macedonia" compromise that finally got hammered out is still controversial in both nations. Angry nationalists protested it in Greece ("Macedonia is Greek!" marchers shouted) and the name must still be approved by voters in Macedonia.

All is quiet on the "Western" front.

[B]Polls show that Macedonia is likely to vote in favor of the new name on September 30, which would officially put North Macedonia on the roll call of nations[/B]. It will join other directional countries like East Timor, South Africa, and South Sudan. (Strictly speaking, North and South Korea don't count here, since their official names are "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" and "Republic of Korea," respectively.) But West Germany went away in 1990, Western Samoa changed its name to "Samoa" in 1997, and Western Sahara's independence is disputed—so until Kanye West becomes a sovereign state, "West" is the one compass direction missing from the world map.

In English form the actual Institute:
[url]https://www.iri.org/resource/macedonia-poll-high-levels-support-eu-nato-ahead-referendum[/url]

[QUOTE]Skopje, Macedonia—A new nationwide poll of Macedonia by the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Center for Insights in Survey Research reveals increasing levels of optimism and support for joining the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ahead of the September 30 referendum.

The survey indicates that a majority of Macedonians favor resolving the name dispute with Greece. A combined 57 percent “completely support” (37 percent) or “somewhat support” (20 percent) the proposal for Macedonia to join the EU and NATO under the new name “Republic of North Macedonia.” The same proportion (57 percent) believe that the benefits of accession justify the acceptance of the new name. Half of the respondents (49 percent) intend to vote in favor of resolving the name dispute, compared to 22 percent who intend to vote against the proposed change.

“As Macedonia approaches this important referendum, the support for a compromise solution on the name dispute that opens the door to EU and NATO membership indicates a strong preference for transatlantic institutions,” said Paul McCarthy, IRI Acting Regional Director for Europe.

Support for EU and NATO membership has continued to rise since March 2017. Support for Macedonia becoming a member of the EU rose to 83 percent—a six-point increase from August 2017 and an eleven-point increase from March 2017. Support for NATO also remains strong at 77 percent.

The poll reflects a continued trend of increased optimism and perceptions of national stability. Thirty-seven percent of respondents think the country is moving in the right direction—a 10-point increase from August 2017 and a 23-point increase from March 2017. Perceptions of stability are also high: The number of respondents who think Macedonia is more stable today than a year ago (37 percent) surpasses those who believe the opposite (25 percent) for the first time in almost nine years.

Methodology

This survey was conducted on behalf of the Center for Insights in Survey Research by GfK Skopje market research firm. Data was collected from June 28 to July 15, 2018, through face-to-face interviews by trained professionals. The sample consisted of 1,100 respondents aged 18 and over and the response rate was 69 percent.

This poll was conducted with support from the United States Agency for International Development.[/QUOTE]

Oh, by the way ....

[B] IRI is a 501(c)(3) and receives funding through grants from the U.S. State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, the National Endowment for Democracy, a number of European foundations and aid agencies and other Western countries, and the United Nations. [/B]

[QUOTE=Risto the Great;176066]In English form the actual Institute:
[url]https://www.iri.org/resource/macedonia-poll-high-levels-support-eu-nato-ahead-referendum[/url]


Oh, by the way ....

[B] IRI is a 501(c)(3) and receives funding through grants from the U.S. State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, the National Endowment for Democracy, a number of European foundations and aid agencies and other Western countries, and the United Nations. [/B][/QUOTE]

There's a lot of US Republican politicians on their Board of Directors and IRI has been previously accused of helping organizing pro-conservative forces in countries like Poland. Obviously, SDS socialist-liberal platform is not something Marco Rubio (Republican senator from Florida) who sits on IRI's board is passionate about. Perhaps IRI wants to see Macedonia in NATO. It's the only reason why I would see them working with SDS here. The article says the Center for Insights in Survey Research by GfK Skopje market research firm commissioned them to do it. I don't know anything about them and if they work closely with SDS or the government.

I think what's most important is that it's a survey of just over 1,000 people and that the survey was conducted nearly two months ago before the Boycott movement really spread on social media. Would be interesting to see where they did this survey (if they were confined to Skopje or not) and who they had on the ground doing the survey, being that it was in-person interviews, and how things would've changed in the last two months. I'm suspecting they would change a bit if they were to conduct the survey now, but not too drastically.

71% are going to vote in the referendum and about 3/4 of those will vote yes. There's also a healthy proportion that still don't know what they're going to do. For the boycott to succeed, they need to get all the no votes to boycott and all the "I don't know" to boycott. Then, you're still at about a 49% turnout.

Seems like an unrealistic dream there. Even if the referendum fails and SDS can't/doesn't fix the referendum, on October 1st Zaev and Dimitrov will begin to push through the agreement, probably in parliament, by buying DPNE votes or by exchanging amnesty for yes votes from certain DPNE parliamentarians.

[QUOTE=vicsinad;176076]Perhaps IRI wants to see Macedonia in NATO[/QUOTE]

I'd say that's all any US interest in the agreement and plebiscite primarily amounts to right now.

[url]www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/albanian-president-calls-albanian-to-vote-for-name-deal-08-30-2018[/url]

[B]Meta Urges Macedonia Albanians to Vote 'Yes' to Deal[/B]

Albanian President Ilir Meta has appealed to Albanians in Macedonia to vote for the historic 'name' deal between Macedonia and Greece.

Albanian President Ilir Meta has said that a positive result in the upcoming referendum on the Greece-Macedonia "name" deal would be “victory of all political forces” and called on Macedonia's large Albanian community to support it.

“I believe and at the same time appeal to all Albanians in Macedonia to participate in the referendum on September 30 and to vote for the agreement, which will open a new chapter not only for the integration of Macedonia but for the future in this country, too,” Meta said on Wednesday in interview with Albania Daily News.

He added that a positive result in the September referendum would be “victory of all political forces” that support EU and NATO integration.

Meta recalled that Albanians, who make up about 25 per cent of Macedonia's population, according to the 2002 census, have an important roleto play in Macedonia's process of internal transformation and Euro-Atlantic integration.

The referendum on September 30 will ask voters if they back Macedonia's accession to NATO and the EU by accepting the agreement with Greece that was signed in June.

Under the deal's terms, Macedonia agreed to change its name to Republic of North Macedonia, while Greece agreed to lift its veto on Macedonia's NATO and EU integration.

For the deal to be fully implemented, Macedonians must show they support it in a referendum.

Macedonia's president and main opposition VMRO DPMNE party have denounced the deal as treasonous, putting the success of the referendum in doubt.

As usual, racial slurs have been edited and noted in italic
[QUOTE]
[url]http://www.ekathimerini.com/232132/article/ekathimerini/news/greek-defense-minister-accuses-fyrom-officials-of-undermining-relations[/url]

[B]Greek defense minister accuses [I]Macedonian[/I] officials of undermining relations[/B]

Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos on Thursday accused officials from the [I]Republic of Macedonia[/I] of undermining progress between the two Balkan neighbors, who signed a deal in June to settle a decades-old name dispute.

“With their provocative comments against Greece, [I]Macedonian[/I] officials including the prime minister himself and the foreign minister, are torpedoing any effort to find a solution,” Kammenos, who also heads Greece's nationalist junior coalition partner Independent Greeks (ANEL), said on the sidelines of an informal meeting of European defense ministers in Vienna.

His comments came in response to an address by [I]Macedonian[/I] Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov in the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday where he said that his country’s citizens are “Macedonian” and speak the “Macedonian” language.

[B][U]“The reference to a 'Macedonian' nation is in violation of any agreement,”[/U][/B] Kammenos said in response on Thursday.

The Greek government wants to distinguish between the concept of Macedonian citizenship of Northern Macedonia and the ethnic undertones that the government in Skopje wants to highlight.

In the meantime, a recent poll conducted in [I]Macedonia[/I] showed that more than half of respondents agree that the Balkan nation should join NATO and the European Union under the name “Republic of North Macedonia,” as part of the name deal signed with Greece.

The name deal is being put to a public referendum in [I]Macedonia[/I] next month.[/QUOTE]

Hello, I was banned for a couple of months, so here’s some basic news from Greece on things you may have misunderstood.

Believe it or not, the Greek Government does NOT support the Prespa Agreement. The Agreement is only supported by the Tsipras Party.

The Agreement is also NOT supported by any other alternative Parliamentary majority, so at the moment it doesn’t seem possible to pass in Greece in any way. This is because all parties with a moderate or mixed view on the name dispute are not willing to take the electoral cost or be accused of treason. This includes New Democracy, Socialists and the Communist Party.

The Agreement caused the dissolution of the newly created coalition of Socialists and the River Party. The River Party which is a small Party is actually the only Opposition Party that openly supports the Agreement.