On September 30, voters in Macedonia headed to the polls for a referendum on changing the country’s official name. If this move sought to resolve the country’s long-running standoff with its neighbor, Greece, the referendum question also presented this healing of relations as a step toward Macedonian membership in the European Union and NATO.

But the referendum did not go as planned. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that last Sunday voters didn’t head to the polls. While 94 percent of those who cast a ballot approved the deal, which would have renamed the country “North Macedonia,” barely more than a third of voters actually turned out. A 50 percent turnout was required for the referendum to pass.

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who planned the name change in a deal with Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras, had expressed hope that future ties with the EU and NATO could “whip Macedonia into shape.” But after the vote, Macedonia — a state formed after the collapse of Yugoslavia — once again finds its future in the balance.