• Live
    • Audio Only
  • google plus
  • facebook
  • twitter
News > World

Catalonia to Declare Independence If 'Si' Vote Wins Referendum

  • People hold Catalan separatist flags known as ''Esteladas.

    People hold Catalan separatist flags known as ''Esteladas." | Photo: Reuters

Published 5 July 2017
Opinion

Gabriela Serra, member of the Popular Unity Candidacy party said if "Si" wins a majority of votes, Catalonia will "immediately" declare independence.

"Do you want Catalonia to be an independent state in the form of a republic?" This is the question that will be posed to voters throughout Catalonia in an Oct. 1 referendum — a vote Madrid has vowed to stop.

RELATED:
Catalonia to Hold Referendum on Independence From Spain

However, if the "Si" (Yes) wins a majority, the autonomous region of Spain insists that it will “immediately” declare independence.

“If the majority of votes cast favor the creation of the Catalan Republic, obviously, and immediately, we'll have to declare independence,” said Gabriela Serra, a member of the small, far-left and pro-Catalan independence party, Popular Unity Candidacy. She was speaking during a presentation of a law organizing the referendum.

The law also stipulates that if the official vote publication shows "Si" in the majority, the regional Catalan parliament would declare independence from Spain within two days.

Junts Pel Yes, Jordi Orobitg, and Lluis Corominas, lawmakers of the Catalan government coalition, explained that the text, “establishes an exceptional legal regime" that entails "the prevalence of this law with respect to other rules." The stance is in direct opposition to Spain's Constitution which dictates national unity among all its autonomous communities. It also contradicts rulings made by its Constitutional Court which bans all measures aimed at Catalonia secession.

RELATED:
Catalonia to Hold Referendum on Independence From Spain

Following through on his plan to hold a referendum if a mutual agreement wasn't achieved with Spain's conservative government of Mariano Rajoy, Catalan President Carles Puigdemont had previously stated, “When they asked us what we Catalans want, we've given them proposals, all kinds of proposals.” In the same breath, he lamented that all of the proposals, “without exception, have been rejected or seriously cut back.”

Meanwhile, speaking at an event in Madrid, Rajoy urged all Catalans and Spaniards to remain calm in the face of “authoritarian delusions” in Catalonia, PressTV reported.

Located in the northwest of the country, Catalonia is recognized as one of Spain's most prosperous regions, not only economically but culturally. Residents have also been able to maintain their national language, Catalan. Apart from these aspects, which have historically fed into the independence movement, residents of the region's capital, Barcelona, say they pay exorbitant taxes to Madrid and don't receive its worth back in services.

Comment
0
Comments
Post with no comments.