Macedonian Bid to Kill Rights Bill Fails

Macedonia's three-year peace process survived a key challenge Sunday after a referendum failed to overturn EU-backed laws to empower the ethnic Albanian minority. Around a quarter of Macedonia's population of 2 million are ethnic Albanians.

The result was welcomed by Washington and Brussels, and takes the country one step closer to European Union and NATO membership -- a move which hinges on the country becoming a sustainable multi-ethnic democracy.

Extending Albanian rights

The referendum, organized by the nationalist opposition, was designed to scupper part of an internationally-brokered peace accord that ended a six-month rebellion by ethnic Albanian militants in 2001 and narrowly averted another Balkan war.

Under the accord, Albanians are to be handed greater administrative control in areas they predominate.

Ethnic Albanians will gain majorities in the towns of Struga and Kicevo, in the mainly ethnic Albanian west of the country, while Albanian will become the second official language in the capital Skopje (pictured).

The reforms sparked riots by the Macedonian majority when they were passed in early August, amid fears they would lead to ethnically-based federalization or even renewed conflict.

But Sunday's result showed the country was firmly in favor of progress. "The people have demonstrated they are willing to live in a multi-ethnic state which promotes European values and concepts," said Emira Mehmeti of the Albanian party in government.

Call for boycott

Both the Macedonian and western governments had urged a boycott of the referendum, saying failure to implement the legislation would set back the 2001 Ohrid peace accords and undermine Macedonia's bid to join the EU and NATO.

While Macedonia's Socialist-led coalition government said turnout had fallen short of the 50 percent turnout for the results to be valid, the opposition accused the government of flagrant cheating, saying one in five polling stations failed to open at all on Sunday.

According to Social Democratic Union (SDU) spokesman Boris Kondarko, turnout was 25 to 27 percent of the 1.7 million voters in the former Yugoslav republic, meaning that an opposition attempt to overturn the laws had failed.

"We have sent a strong message to the EU and NATO today that the citizens know the way ahead and they are counting on your support for integration," SDU Vice President and Defence Minister Vlado Buckovski told state television. "There were no winners and losers today. Macedonia is more united than ever."

Fraud allegations

The right-wing opposition party and the chief organizer of the plebiscite, VMRO-DPMNE, refused to concede defeat and accused the government of electoral fraud.

"We have faced major fraud because the citizens have not been able to exercise their right to vote in various areas of the country," he told AFP, adding that the party would consider challenging the legality of the poll. "We are sure if citizens were able to vote the turnout would have been much higher."

He also complained of irregularities in polling booths and voter intimidation, as well as dirty tricks by the government, including electricity failures.