Macedonia referendum losing

SKOPJE, Macedonia -- A referendum to end the autonomy granted to Macedonia's ethnic Albanian minority appeared to be defeated on Sunday because of insufficient voter turnout.

The apparent defeat of the referendum was a victory for Macedonia's multi-ethnic coalition government, which had urged voters to boycott it. Not showing up to vote was in effect the same as a no vote for the measure, which had been supported by Macedonian nationalists.

The United States and European nations had also urged defeat of the referendum, contending it would have weakened Macedonia's political stability and diminished the prospects for the country's entry to NATO and the European Union.

"It was a choice between voting to go back to the past or look ahead to the future," said Teuta Arifi, a member of the Democratic Union for Integration, an ethnic Albanian party that is part of the coalition government. "People are clearly looking to the future."

Poor weather and a boycott by ethnic Albanians, who make up roughly 25 percent of Macedonia's 2 million people, contributed to the low turnout. The State Electoral Commission said that by late Sunday, less than 30 percent of Macedonia's 1.6 million eligible voters had turned out, far below the minimum 50 percent needed. Official figures were expected to be confirmed today.

Prime Minister Hari Kostov had urged voters to boycott the referendum and had threatened to resign if it passed.

Western diplomats and government officials had warned that if the measure succeeded, it would undermine a peace agreement signed in August 2001 that ended seven months of fighting between ethnic Albanian guerrillas and security forces.

The referendum had been called by the nationalist World Macedonian Congress, a group opposed to the 2001 agreement, known as the Ohrid accords. The nationalists maintain that the reorganization of municipal boundaries grants ethnic Albanians too much power in several important cities.

EU and U.S. officials say the changes are an essential part of the peace agreement.

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