With putting a final stamp on the Agreement with Greece and ratifying it as legitimate and desired for improving the status of the country for joining EU and NATO, it is becoming increasingly more obvious that it will depend on whether the outcome of the referendum will be for or against accepting the name Northern Macedonia.
Basically, the conditional date for opening negotiations is June 2019, certainly, depending on the positive outcome of the referendum. The same goes for the EU and NATO.
However, Macedonia’s entry does not depend only on the referendum, but rather on the reforms in the public administration, judiciary, intelligence services and the fight against corruption. Which, of course, depends not only on the changes in the Law on anti-corruption, but also on the way in which the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption (SCPC) will be reformed.
Because the focus, in a democratic manner, is turned towards the citizens in whose hands lies the fate of Macedonia, its identity, language, culture and history, which the opposition considers to be the most important things we own as a nation, and the change of the Constitution of the state is an unacceptable scenario, we remain to see whether they will boycott the referendum or not.
On the other hand, the general impression in the public is that with or without a referendum the government has made a positive decision that will help in the country’s progress without changing the characteristics in the form that the opposition anticipates.
But, the referendum depends perhaps mostly from the manner and form of its implementation.
If the State Election Commission is competent for its obligatory implementation at the state level, which implies that the SEC needs to be functional, the Voters Register in a good state, the competent institutions well-coordinated with the SEC, the Electoral Code revised and consistent for a fair and democratic referendum process, in this case, also the Law on referendums and civil initiatives harmonized with other laws, then we can freely predict the end and the outcome.
Until the end of the month, the Parliament, more specifically, the Committee on election and appointment should convene a session to see the party composition of the SEC, whose president will be from the opposition. According to latest information, the session will most likely be held next week, whereas the work is being delayed by the opposition, which is indecisive in regards to selecting its candidates.
From SDSM the following have been proposed for members of the SEC: Boris Kondarko, former President of the SEC, Janakie Vitanovski, former member of the Lustration Committee and Radica Risteska, a judge from Ohrid.
In terms of the Law on Referendums and Civil Initiative, it is considered to be unclear and outdated in several articles uncoordinated with other laws, and at the same time there is a proposal for reducing the high censuses of 50% plus one vote turnout.
And while the parties and public are calculating how to most effectively handle this historically important issue, the EU have given a conditional date for opening negotiations, but this implies fully respecting and fulfilling the given conditions: implementing the urgent reform priorities, implementing the name agreement, a positive report from the European Commission and a decision of the Council of the EU.
Or in translation, Macedonia is on the thin line of the double-edged sword. Or even better, the road to EU is thorny.
Biljana Jordanovskа
