The Spanish government had called the early vote in the hope of having a more moderate Catalan administration to deal with. The previous one held an illegal referendum to secede from Spain and its MPs then declared unilateral independence, triggering the country’s worst political crisis in decades.
But Madrid’s hopes were clearly dashed. With more than 99% of the vote counted, no single party gained an outright majority but the three separatist parties together took 70 seats.They needed 68 to keep their grip on the 135-seat Parliament.
Catalonia will declare independence from Spain in a matter of days, the leader of the autonomous region has told the BBC.
In his first interview since a disputed vote on Sunday, Carles Puigdemont said his government would “act at the end of this week or the beginning of next”.
Meanwhile, Spain’s King Felipe VI said the vote’s organisers had put themselves “outside the law”.
He said the situation in Spain was “extremely serious”, calling for unity.
Tensions between Spain and the north-eastern Catalonia region continue to mount, days after the vote was marred by violence involving national police.
The Spanish High Court said it had begun an investigation into key Catalan figures on Wednesday on suspicion of sedition – inciting rebellion against the state – including the head of Catalonia’s regional police.
Well, by definition an independence movement is seditious against the current government.
