Around 2.26 million out of the 5.34 million voters in Catalonia have voted in the Catalan referendum to leave Spain. The referendum, which was marred by violence, witnessed a turnout of some 42.3 percent of voters. The Spanish police resorted to violence to stop people from taking part in the referendum. According to Catalan officials, around 90 percent of the voters have voted for the independence of Catalonia from Spain.
Catalonia’s pro-sovereignty government prepares to defy Madrid by holding an independence referendum on Sunday. Catalonia is in the northeast region of Spain. It consists of four provinces- Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. In order to stop the Catalonian Referendum from taking place on October 1, the government of Spain is leaving no stone unturned and has been raiding 31 town halls across the region. At least 10 million ballot papers have been seized along with arresting many politicians and imposing fines on top Catalan officials by the Spanish authorities. The spark for the Catalonian Referendum was ignited in November 2014 when the Catalonian government held an informal referendum in which more than 80% voted in favor of independence. However, a unilateral declaration of independence could be triggered if the October 1, 2017 referendum takes place. Amidst the chaos in Catalonia, the Spanish chief public prosecutor on Monday refused to rule out the arrest of Catalonian President Carles Puigdemont.