Skip to main content
Latest news
Thumbnail

No Referendum Held in Catalonia, Says Spanish PM

Spain’s northeastern region of Catalonia failed to hold an independence referendum on Sunday, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said, after more than 760 people were injured in clashes between police and voters during a ballot Madrid said was illegal, Reuters reported.

Rajoy said that the people of Catalonia had been tricked in to taking part in the banned vote, adding that the referendum was a strategy by the regional government against legality and democratic harmony and was a “path that leads to nowhere.”

Rajoy thanked security forces for upholding the law and doing their job.

Reuters reported that he also called to meet with all Spanish political parties to discuss the country’s future following the referendum.

Another Reuters report said that Catalonia’s regional leader opened the door to a unilateral declaration of independence from Spain on Sunday after voters defied a violent police crackdown and, according to regional officials, voted 90 percent in favor of breaking away.

Despite Spanish police using batons and rubber bullets to disrupt the banned referendum, which was declared unconstitutional by Madrid, the Catalan government said 2.26 million people had cast ballots, a turnout of about 42 percent.

Carles Puigdemont’s comments followed a television address by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy who ruled out independence and accused separatists of trying to “blackmail ... the whole nation”. He offered all-party talks on the region’s future.

Catalan officials say more than 800 people were injured in clashes with Spanish riot police during the referendum, which has pitched the country into its deepest constitutional crisis in decades and deepened a rift between Madrid and Barcelona.

“On this day of hope and suffering, Catalonia’s citizens have earned the right to have an independent state in the form of a republic,” Puigdemont said in a televised address.

“My government, in the next few days will send the results of today’s vote to the Catalan Parliament, where the sovereignty of our people lies, so that it can act in accordance with the law of the referendum,” he said.

The law of the referendum, deemed unconstitutional by Madrid, foresees a unilateral declaration of independence by the Catalan parliament if the majority votes to leave Spain. The law does not set a minimum turnout for the outcome to be valid.

The results announced early on Monday were not a surprise, given that many unionists were not expected to turn out to vote.

No Referendum Held in Catalonia, Says Spanish PM

Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy claimed late Sunday that “there was no independence referendum today in Catalonia.”

Thumbnail

Spain’s northeastern region of Catalonia failed to hold an independence referendum on Sunday, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said, after more than 760 people were injured in clashes between police and voters during a ballot Madrid said was illegal, Reuters reported.

Rajoy said that the people of Catalonia had been tricked in to taking part in the banned vote, adding that the referendum was a strategy by the regional government against legality and democratic harmony and was a “path that leads to nowhere.”

Rajoy thanked security forces for upholding the law and doing their job.

Reuters reported that he also called to meet with all Spanish political parties to discuss the country’s future following the referendum.

Another Reuters report said that Catalonia’s regional leader opened the door to a unilateral declaration of independence from Spain on Sunday after voters defied a violent police crackdown and, according to regional officials, voted 90 percent in favor of breaking away.

Despite Spanish police using batons and rubber bullets to disrupt the banned referendum, which was declared unconstitutional by Madrid, the Catalan government said 2.26 million people had cast ballots, a turnout of about 42 percent.

Carles Puigdemont’s comments followed a television address by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy who ruled out independence and accused separatists of trying to “blackmail ... the whole nation”. He offered all-party talks on the region’s future.

Catalan officials say more than 800 people were injured in clashes with Spanish riot police during the referendum, which has pitched the country into its deepest constitutional crisis in decades and deepened a rift between Madrid and Barcelona.

“On this day of hope and suffering, Catalonia’s citizens have earned the right to have an independent state in the form of a republic,” Puigdemont said in a televised address.

“My government, in the next few days will send the results of today’s vote to the Catalan Parliament, where the sovereignty of our people lies, so that it can act in accordance with the law of the referendum,” he said.

The law of the referendum, deemed unconstitutional by Madrid, foresees a unilateral declaration of independence by the Catalan parliament if the majority votes to leave Spain. The law does not set a minimum turnout for the outcome to be valid.

The results announced early on Monday were not a surprise, given that many unionists were not expected to turn out to vote.

Share this post