Zaev's next move: Early elections?

The result of the referendum in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will be disputed by the country's opposition, especially the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE, as participation was significantly lower than 50 percent of the approximately 1.8 million registered voters.

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev will emphasize the victory of the "yes" vote by the citizens who chose to go to the polls. Still, as he realized that he would be faced with a large abstention vote, Zaev opted for a different approach in the last days of the election campaign: "Those who will vote will decide whether or not we succeed," he said, noting that "those who do not vote do not count." In this light, he argued that "if there is a large majority in favor, then this means that everyone, regardless of their political views, will have to comply with the people's mandate."

If the number of citizens who...