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Are you in favor of the territorial organization of local self-government (municipalities and the city of Skopje) determined by the Law on the Territorial Division of the Republic of Macedonia and Determination of the Areas of Local Self-Government Units ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia" no. 49/96) and the Law on the city of Skopje ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia no. 49/96)? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Outcome | Proposal failed as voter turnout was below 50% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Legislature |
 North Macedonia portal |
An autonomy referendum was held inMacedonia on 7 November 2004. Voters were asked whether they approved of overturning the municipal redistricting plans that gave greater autonomy to ethnicAlbanians following theOhrid Agreement that ended the2001 conflict between ethnic Albanian militants and the predominantly ethnicMacedonian government forces. These had been changed to give ethnic Albanians greater control in districts where they had significant presence and gives local authorities greater control over education, health and development.[1] It also reduced the number of municipalities from 123 to 84.[2]
Although 95% voted in favour of the change, the voter turnout of 27% was well below the 50% threshold,[2][3] resulting in it failing.
The referendum was initiated by the World Macedonian Congress, led by Todor Petrov, whose "group of Voters" party won 0.25% of the vote in the1998 parliamentary election.[4] It was backed by conservative parties, notablyVMRO-DPMNE, and non-Albanian ethnic minority parties.[5] Backers were opposed to the Ohrid Accord and said the law was divisive and would lead to the breakup of the Republic of Macedonia.
The thenPrime Minister,Hari Kostov said he would quit if the referendum succeeded and urged voters to boycott the vote, so it would fail to meet the 50% turnout requirement.
TheEuropean Union andUnited States also urged a boycott, and said thataccession to the EU andNATO would be more difficult.[1] Four days before the vote the United States announced they would start referring to the country as theRepublic of Macedonia rather than the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in a move said to strengthen the government position.[4]
Prior to the vote, a Macedonian newspaper carried a story suggesting that if the referendum succeeded, Albanian militants had planned to blow up a pipeline carrying water to the capitalSkopje.[6]
Opinion polls prior to the vote suggested support of between 56 and 65% of voters.[1]
Are you for the territorial organization of the local self-government (the municipalities and City of Skopje) as determined by the Law on Territorial Division of the Republic of Macedonia and Determination of the Areas of the Local Self-Government Units (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia no. 49/1996) and the Law on the City of Skopje (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia no. 49/1996).[2]
| Choice | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| For | 427,112 | 95.06 | |
| Against | 22,212 | 4.94 | |
| Total | 449,324 | 100.00 | |
| Valid votes | 449,324 | 98.89 | |
| Invalid/blank votes | 5,023 | 1.11 | |
| Total votes | 454,347 | 100.00 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,709,536 | 26.58 | |
| Source:IFES | |||
| Presidential elections | |
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| Parliamentary elections | |
| Local elections | |
| Referendums | |
See also:Elections in Yugoslavia | |
 Independence referendums in Yugoslavia | |
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| Republics and provinces |
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| Autonomy | |
