Of 1,700,000 eligible voters, only 436,000 went to the polls, and 410,000 of them voted for the maintenance of the previous internal arrangements, while 20,000 circled the word against on the ballots.
The referendum was organised at the initiative of citizens and some opposition parties that were against the enforcement of the new law regulating the changes the boundaries of towns and municipalities. The law in question is a key part of the Western-brokered Ohrid peace agreement that quelled an Albanian guerrilla insurgency after seven months of clashes with government forces in 2001. In August this year the Macedonian parliament adopted the law regulating the new internal territorial organisation, which elicited stormy reactions among some Macedonians and opposition parties who claimed that changes were in favour of ethnic Albanians. Consequently, an initiative was launched for collecting the required number of citizens' signatures so as to hold a referendum on the matter.
Under the new law, boundary lines of some towns and municipalities will be changed. As a result, the ethnic structure will be altered to the benefit of local Albanians. Citizens of Struga, Kicevo and sections of the capital Skopje feel they are especially affected by the new law. They believe the implementation of the law would lead to the Albanisation of their towns.
The ruling Macedonian parties called on citizens not to go to the referendum. Foreign diplomats seem in favour of the new law which they say will ensure the exercising of minority rights.
On Sunday evening, the co-ordinating body which launched a campaign for the referendum, complained about many irregularities during the voting and accused the ruling parties of persuading the citizens against the referendum. It said it was going to submit a complaint to the State Election Commission.
Analysts believe that the last week's decision of the United States to recognise the name of Macedonia instead of the the label 'Former Federal Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia' for the country was one of reasons for a low turnout.
Macedonians have perceived Washington's move as yet another guarantee for the protection of the territorial integrity of the entire country. Besides, many western diplomats advocated the enforcement of the new law as a measure for the protection of ethnic minorities' right and warned that the maintenance of the previous internal territorial integration would be a step back on Macedonia's path towards NATO and the European Union.