| Series Title | Catalan News Agency |
|---|---|
| Series Details | 10.11.14 |
| Publication Date | 10/11/2014 |
| Content Type | News |
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Around 2.25 million people in Catalonia voted in the non-binding referendum on independence for Catalonia on the 9 November 2014. With 88% of ballot boxes counted, 81% voted for independence, according to figures gathered by the more than 40,000 volunteers and announced by the Catalan Government. More than two million people out of an estimated 5.4 million eligible voters took part in the ballot (approximately 37% of those eligible to vote). Catalan parties considered the non-binding participatory process to be 'a total success' since it sent a strong message that in the near future Catalans wanted to hold a legal and fully democratic vote on independence from Spain in order to decide on their own collective future. As a consequence, pro-self-determination parties asked the Spanish Government to negotiate while Spanish nationalist parties downplayed the vote and consider it 'a fraud'. The Spanish government downplayed the process and the vote, calling it 'a useless and sterile simulation' and 'a pure act of propaganda'. The Local.es quoted political scientist Fernando Vallespin of Madrid's Autonomous University as saying the vote was 'a relative victory' for those calling for independence. Spanish newspaper ABC said 'Rajoy's government looks like the representative of an indecisive state that can't even push through its own laws'. 'It shows that Catalans want to vote. But it is a long way from showing that they want independence', he said. In his first public statement Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy on the 12 November 2014, downplayed the 9 November participatory process and totally rejected the opportunity to negotiate the organisation of a mutually-agreed self-determination referendum for Catalonia. |
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| Source Link | http://www.catalannewsagency.com/politics/item/2-25-million-catalans-participate-in-non-binding-vote-independence-option-won-with-80-support |
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| Subject Categories | Politics and International Relations |
| Countries / Regions | Spain |
