Catalans in crucial vote with record turnout of 80%

World
Europe

Polls predict a record turnout of around 80% in the snap elections for Catalan parliament on Thursday, and long lines at polling places – even before they opened – are an indication of the sharp interest in these elections, which are widely seen as crucial for the future of Catalonia and for its relationship with the rest of Spain.

Tensions have risen since a disputed independence referendum on Oct. 1, which Spain said was illegal.

Later, the Spanish government took direct control of the prosperous, restive region in northeastern Spain after the Catalan parliament voted unilaterally for independence on Oct. 27, which is not allowed under the Spanish Constitution.

A woman is about to vote in Barcelona, Thursday. / CGTN Photo

Madrid stepped in, ousted the pro-independence Catalan government, dissolved parliament and set these elections, hoping that Catalan parties that favor remaining in Spain would win.

Spanish courts also took action, jailing various Catalan leaders on rebellion charges, while the ousted Catalan president went to Brussels with several aides, and he’s been campaigning from there ever since.

But he also faces arrest for rebellion if he comes home. Political scientist Pablo Simon said, “Right now it exists the possibility of having a narrow absolute majority of the pro-independence parties. That’s one of the more probable outcomes. And there are also the possibilities of having no clear majority for neither of the two blocs.”

Which could leave Catalonia with a hung parliament after the elections, as the seven main parties try to find support to form a government – not what Spain’s conservative prime minister was apparently hoping for when he called the snap elections.

8814km