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| Catalonia to hold referendum on independence from Spain in October | Catalonia to hold referendum on independence from Spain in October |
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| Catalonia will hold an independence referendum on 1 October, the regional government has said. | Catalonia will hold an independence referendum on 1 October, the regional government has said. |
| Spain’s Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, has not commented on today's announcement but has previously said he would not recognise the vote as he considers it to be unconstitutional. | |
| Catalonia, whose capital is Barcelona, has its own language and a long tradition of seeking separation from the rest of Spain. | |
| Carles Puigdemont, president of the government of Catalonia, said voters would be asked whether they wanted the north-east region “to become an independent state in the form of a republic”. | |
| Catalan voters were last asked for their views on independence in an informal ballot in 2014. | |
| Then, 80.72 per cent - or around two million people - said they backed separation. However, turnout was low and the result was non-binding. | |
| That vote was organised by volunteers rather than government officials to get around court restrictions. | |
| It is unclear how the regional government will overcome the legal challenges this time around. | |
| Under Article 155 of Spain's constitution, Madrid can force the regional government to drop the vote. | |
| More follows… | More follows… |