Macedonian autonomy referendum, 2004

The 2004 autonomy referendum was held in the Republic of Macedonia on 7 November 2004. The question was whether to overturn the municipal redistricting plans which gave greater autonomy to ethnic Albanians following the Ohrid Agreement that ended the 2001 conflict between ethnic Albanian militants and the predominantly ethnic Macedonian government forces.

The question put to the voters was whether to revert to the municipal boundaries that had existed prior to the Ohrid Accord. These had been changed to give ethnic Albanians greater control in districts where they had significant presense and gives local authorities greater control over education, health and development. [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2004/11/mil-041107-357b8ba0.htm Macedonia Votes on Local Autonomy for Ethnic Albanian Minority] , "Voice of America" via "Global Security", 2004-07-11, accessed on 2007-03-18]

The referendum was initiated by the World Macedonian Congress, led by Todor Petrov, whose "group of Voters" party won 0.25% of the vote in the 1988 parliamentary election. [http://www.antiwar.com/deliso/?articleid=3973 The Referendum: Macedonia's Failed, Fatal Opportunity] , "Anti War.com", 2004-11-13, accessed on 2007-03-18] It was backed by the main nationalist opposition, VMRO-DPMNE, and non-Albanian ethnic minority parties. [ [http://www.balkanalysis.com/2004/11/05/nine-misconceptions-about-the-macedonian-referendum/ Nine Misconceptions about the Macedonian Referendum] , "Balkan Analysis.com", 2004-05-11, accessed on 2008-03-18] Backers were opposed to the Ohrid Accord and said the law was divisive and would lead to the break up of the Republic of Macedonia.

The then Prime Minister of Macedonia, Hari Kostov said he would quit if the referendum succeeded and urged voters to boycott the vote, so it would fail to meet the 50% turnout requirement.

The European Union and United States also urged a boycott, and said that accession to the EU and NATO would be more difficult. Four days before the vote the United States announced they would start referring to the coutry as the Republic of Macedonia rather than the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in a move said to strengthen the government position.

Prior to the vote, a Macedonian newspaper carried a story suggesting that if the referendum succeeded, Albanian militants had planned to blow up a pipeline carrying water to the capital Skopje. [ [http://www.balkanalysis.com/2004/11/09/what-fear-motivated-the-wests-anti-referendum-hysteria/ What Fear Motivated the West�s Anti-Referendum Hysteria?] , "Balkan Analysis", 2004-11-09, accessed on 2007-03-18]

Opinion polls prior to the vote suggested support of between 56 and 65% of voters.

The voter turnout was only 26,2%, which meant that the referendum was defeated. Of those 26,2%, 95,4% were for the referendum while 4,6% were against. [ [http://www.ifes.org.mk/en/referendum.asp REFERENDUM ON TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION 2004] , " IFES MACEDONIA", 2004-11-08, accessed on 2008-06-02]

As the referendum failed, the Macedonian capital Skopje got bilingual, which means that there are two official languages: Macedonian and Albanian.

References