Macedonian referendum backs new name to end Greek row

The vast majority of voters in Sunday's referendum in Macedonia supported 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 ballots from 80 per cent of polling stations counted, 91.2 per cent of votes were in favour of the name changing to North Macedonia, compared to 5.6 per cent opposing the move, according to the electoral commission's official count.

However, the vote was marred by a low turnout, with only a third of the electorate voting.

Greece reacted to the result with the Foreign Ministry saying 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.

Zaev had earlier voiced confidence that the country would support a yes vote.

"I think the huge majority of the citizens who voted have chosen the European path for Macedonia," the social-democrat leader said, an hour after the polls closed.

But two-thirds of voters stayed away from the polling stations for the non-binding referendum on whether to change the name of the country to "North Macedonia".

Zaev urged the rightwing opposition, who might well question the vote's credibility due to the low turnout, to "respect the democratic will of the citizens" and ratify the deal in parliament or face "early parliamentary elections".

For the two-thirds parliamentary majority required to ratify the result, Zaev and his coalition partners from the ethnic Albanian minority need at least a dozen MPs from the opposition to back the move.

Opponents of the change, who had called for a boycott of the name-change referendum, announced plans for a celebration outside parliament, where they had set up a stage during the afternoon. However, barely 300 people gathered there an hour and a half after the polls closed.

The vote is an emotional moment for a country that has struggled for recognition of its name since 1991, when the former Yugoslav republic declared independence.

At the time, Athens kicked up a major fuss, accusing Skopje of stealing the name of its own northern province, which is also called Macedonia.

The dispute dives deep into history with both countries vying to lay claim to Alexander the Great's ancient empire of Macedon, which spanned their territories.

Zaev has billed the referendum as a painful but "historic" opportunity to break the 27-year-old stalemate.

The June deal, however, has been openly opposed by Macedonia's President Gjorge Ivanov, who is allied with the nationalist opposition and had supported calls for a boycott of the referendum.

Few Macedonians are enthused about the new name, saying they have been unfairly bullied by Greece.

"I am not happy and I do not know anyone who likes this deal," said 55-year old Danica Taneska, who admitted voting 'no' to the change.

But a desire to anchor their future to the West -- and the economic prosperity that it could bring -- has been a driving force behind the 'yes' vote in one of Europe's poorest nations.

The referendum is not binding, but a 'yes' majority gives parliament a political mandate to change the constitution. Sunday's vote was closely watched across the border in Greece, where nationalists staged a protest against the deal earlier this month.

"We hope for a positive outcome for the proceedings to progress with the constitutional review," Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said on the radio earlier. "Any other result would create a disturbance."