80 pct of participants in symbolic Catalan poll back independence: early results
BARCELONA (AFP) - Over 80 per cent of the roughly two million people who took part in a symbolic independence referendum in Spain's weathly region of Catalonia on Sunday voted in favour of independence, early results showed.
Voters were asked for their response to two questions. The first was: "Do you want Catalonia to be a state?". If answered affirmatively, the ballot paper posed a second question: "Do you want that state to be independent?".
Of the 2,043,226 ballots counted so far, 80.7 per cent or 1,649,239 voted yes to both questions, Catalan vice president Joana Ortega told a news conference.
Just over 10 per cent, or 206,599 ballots, voted yes for the the first question and no for the second while 92,939 ballots, or 4.5 per cent, voted no to both questions, she added.
The poll was held in the face of fierce opposition from the Spanish government, and despite a constitutional court ruling to suspend the exercise.
Most anti-independence parties were opposed to the poll and urged their backers to not take part.
There was no official electoral roll but the regional government said 5.4 million Catalans and resident foreigners aged 16 were eligible to vote.
Spain's conservative government fiercely opposes independence for Catalonia, which accounts for a fifth of the country's economy but is deep in debt after a financial and economic crisis in Spain.
