Catalan referendum: Puigdemont declares Catalonia has won right to republic

Charles Puigdemont said that the way had been cleared to have a unilateral declaration of independence for the region.

Nearly 850 people were injured today as the Guardia Civil and national police were out in force in an attempt to prevent the referendum going ahead after the Madrid administration, lead by Mariano Rajoy, backed by the Constitutional Court, declared the referendum was illegal saying it went against the country’s constitution.

In a number of incidents members of the country’s security forces were seen using strong-arm tactics to close polling stations and seize ballot boxes.

Guardia Civil used batons as well as firing rubber bullets into the crowds as they tried to cast their vote.

Mr Puigdemont, accompanied by senior members of the regional government, said in a televised address: “With this day of hope and suffering, the citizens of Catalonia have won the right to an independent state in the form a republic.”

He said: “The citizens of Catalonia, we have won the right to have an independent state constituted in the form of a republic.

“Catalonia has hard won its sovereignty and all to the respect and the institutions have the obligation to implement the result”.

He added that the European Union, who had consistently refused to support the cause, could no longer “continue to look the other way”.

The central Spanish government has said that not only was there no referendum but also denied any police brutality.

Mr Rajoy said in a televised address from the Moncloa Palace in Madrid, the Prime Minister declared that “there was no independence referendum in Catalonia today”.

He delivered the live televised address after violence broke out in Catalonia in what the government called an “illegal” referendum.

While in a separate press conference the country’s Vice President Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría said  “actions were taken against electoral material, never against people.”


🕐 Top News in the Last Hour By Importance Score

# Title 📊 i-Score
1 Your smartwatch will see you now! New device offers instant health checkup in just 60 seconds – and it could reduce pressure on GPs 🟢 85 / 100
2 TikTok’s Raunchy Love Letter to the National Parks Might Actually Save Them 🟢 82 / 100
3 Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Cassie Ventura’s explicit text messages released publicly after being dissected in court 🔴 78 / 100
4 Ukraine war briefing: Rubio suggests Vatican as future peace talk venue as Trump set to call Putin over ‘bloodbath’ 🔴 75 / 100
5 King urged to issue a 'hands off Canada' warning to Trump when he opens parliament next month 🔴 72 / 100
6 New Pope Leo XIV issues bombshell controversial statement on 'what marriage is' 🔴 65 / 100
7 Britons saving 10% of income for a rainy day 🔴 65 / 100
8 Ben Fogle reveals huge career move away from TV 🔵 55 / 100
9 Russia jails Australian man for fighting alongside Ukraine 🔵 55 / 100
10 Amazon claims its ‘constantly inviting’ new customers to Alexa Plus 🔵 45 / 100

View More Top News ➡️