The Spanish Government has made an appeal to the country’s constitutional court. Spain asked them to declare the independence referendum in Catalonia illegal. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy declared the vote was incompatible with the Spanish laws. This comes as a response to the act of Catalonia region’s President who signed a decree calling citizens to vote on the 9th of November. Artur Mas’ call for a referendum was very well received by the population in the north-eastern region of Spain. Hundreds of thousand Catalan citizens have been protesting in the last few days, asking for their right to vote.
The Federal Government of Madrid strongly opposed from the very beginning any kind of referendum. Such a referendum is said to be unconstitutional and might serve as the setting point for political and legal confrontation. On the 11th of September, on the national day of Catalonia, hundreds of thousands of people protested and asked for their right to vote on the issue of independence. The region of Catalonia represents one fifth of Spain’s economy. The Government stated that Catalonia already has exceptional power: it has its own parliament, police force, educational system and health system. It also stated that the Constitution does not allow Spanish regions to separate.
The independence movement in Catalonia was strongly fueled by the Scotland’s independence referendum, held earlier this month. Although the referendum took place, the voters did not wish to separate from the United Kingdom. This might be the case with the Catalonia region as well. Recent poll results show that the great majority of Catalans want to have the opportunity to express their vote. However, less than a majority would vote for independence. During the gathering for independence held in Barcelona, a smaller gathering was held in the city of Tarragona, asking for the region to remain part of Spain.
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It is believed that the Government in Madrid will initiate the blocking of the vote for independence in Spain’s constitutional court. In case the court accepts to suspend the vote for independence on the 9th of November, Catalonia will have to decide whether to insist or not.