The burning quest for secession or independence has engulfed a number of countries, the Scottish in the United Kingdom, Biafra in Nigeria, the Anglophone in Cameroon and the Catalonia in Spain.
In spite of Spain’s vehement objection and opposition, the Catalonia is forging ahead in its preparation to unilaterally declare independence after it received affirmation to that effect with the referendum vote over the weekend.
Catalan President Carles Puigdemont told the BBC in an remarks published on Wednesday that his government would ask the region’s parliament to declare independence after tallying votes from last weekend’s referendum, which Madrid deems illegal.
His comment appeared after Spain’s King Felipe VI accused secessionist leaders on Tuesday of shattering democratic principles and dividing Catalan society, as tens of thousands protested against a violent police crackdown on Sunday’s vote.
“We are to declare independence 48 hours after all the official results are counted,” Puigdemont said.
“This will probably finish once we get all the votes in from abroad at the end of the week and therefore we shall probably act over the weekend or early next week.”
Puigdemont is due to make a statement at 9 p.m. on Wednesday.
Catalan authorities said 90% of voters in Sunday’s referendum backed a split from Madrid — but turnout was only 43%. The Catalan government blamed the crackdown for the low turnout and said up to 770,000 votes were lost as a result of raids at polling stations. Though many supported the referendum vote but the split from Spain is a divisive issue among the people of Catalonia.
