North Macedonia: Macedonian parliament approves country’s name change to Republic of North Macedonia
The name dispute between Greece and Macedonia has been souring bilateral relations for years, with Athens opposing the use of “Macedonia,” which is also the name of a region in Greece, Trend reports citing Sputnik.
Debates on the new legislation started on Wednesday and continued through Thursday. The final vote was postponed several times due to the lack of the 80 votes needed for the amendments to pass.
“Eighty-one people voted in favor, all four amendments to the constitution have been adopted,” Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi said in a televised broadcast.
Meanwhile, lawmakers from opposition VMRO-DPMNE party boycotted the vote and held protest rallies outside the parliament building in Skopje.