Catalonia Will Apply Referendum Law Calling for Independence Declaration, Says Leader

The Catalan government says more than 90% of people who voted in an October 1 referendum voted in favour of independence from Spain.

Adrian Croft

The Catalan government says more than 90% of people who voted in an October 1 referendum voted in favour of independence from Spain.

catalonia will apply referendum law calling for independence declaration says leader

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont meets with members of the Independent Comission for Mediation and Dialogue, at the Palau de la Generalitat, the regional government headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, October 6, 2017. Credit: Reuters

Barcelona: Catalonia will apply a referendum law, which calls for a declaration of independence if a referendum shows a majority in favour, Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont says in a television programme to be broadcast later on Sunday.

"The declaration of independence, that we don't call a 'unilateral' declaration of independence, is foreseen in the referendum law as an application of the results. We will apply what the law says," Puigdemont says in the programme on Catalonia's TV3, according to excerpts on the broadcaster's website.

The Catalan government says more than 90% of people who voted in an October 1 referendum voted in favour of independence from Spain. The referendum was declared illegal by Spanish authorities and turnout was only 43%.

The Catalan law paving the way for the referendum said the parliament of Catalonia would declare the region's independence within 48 hours of a "yes" vote being proclaimed by the Catalan electoral office.

(Reuters)

This article went live on October ninth, two thousand seventeen, at forty-four minutes past twelve at noon.

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