2017 Catalan independence referendum

Catalan independence referendum, 2017

Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?

Location

Date

1 October 2017

Results
	Votes	%
Yes	2,044,038	7001920100000000000♠92.01%
No	177,547	7000799000000000000♠7.99%
Valid votes	2,221,585	7001971700000000000♠97.17%
Invalid or blank votes	64,632	7000283000000000000♠2.83%
Total votes	2,286,217	100.00%
Registered voters/turnout	5,313,564	7001430300000000000♠43.03%

Provisional results.
Source: Government of Catalonia

The Catalan independence referendum of 2017, also known by the numeronym 1-O (for "1 October") in Spanish and Catalan media, was an independence referendum held on 1 October 2017 in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, passed by the Parliament of Catalonia and called by the Generalitat de Catalunya. It was declared illegal on 7 September 2017 and suspended by the Constitutional Court of Spain after a request from the Spanish government, who declared it a breach of the Spanish Constitution of 1978. Additionally, in early September the High Court of Justice of Catalonia had issued orders to the police to try to prevent it, including the detention of various persons responsible for its preparation. Due to the many irregularities in the administration of the vote (for example there were people voting more than once , and no control whatsoever about it), as well as to the use of force by the National Police and Civil Guard, international observers invited by the Generalitat declared that the referendum failed to meet the minimum international standards for elections.

The referendum was approved by the Catalan parliament in a session on 6 September 2017 along with a law which states that independence would be binding with a simple majority, without requiring a minimum turnout. After being suspended, the law was finally declared void on 17 October and is also illegal according to the Catalan Statutes of Autonomy which require a two third majority in the Catalan parliament for any change to Catalonia's status.

The referendum question, which voters answered with "Yes" or "No", was "Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?". The "Yes" side won, with 2,044,038 (92.01%) voting for independence and 177,547 (7.99%) voting against, on a turnout of 43.03%. The Catalan government estimated that up to 770,000 votes were not cast due to polling stations being closed off during the police crackdown, although the "universal census" system introduced earlier in the day allowed electors to vote in any given polling station. Catalan government officials have argued that the turnout would have been higher were it not for Spanish police suppression of the vote, On the other hand, many voters who did not support Catalan independence did not turn out, as the constitutional political parties asked citizens to not participate in what they considered an illegal referendum.

...
Wikipedia