A referendum on independence of Catalonia began on Sunday, at 9 a.m. local time, and immediately things took a dramatic turn.
Referendum participants were asked to answer the question: «do You Want Catalonia became an independent state with a Republican form of government?»
Earlier, Spain’s constitutional court declared the referendum unconstitutional, and the official Madrid refused to recognize the legitimacy of the vote.
Since the morning on the plots began to gather people, some began to come a few hours before in order to «protect» polling booths to the Spanish authorities did not close them, some even spent the night there, having pitched tents.
In addition to voting, at polling stations observed massive accumulation of police in Spain, which tried to prevent the holding of the will: the police seized the ballot boxes and ballot papers began to be reports of massive clashes between residents and representatives of law enforcement bodies of Spain.
According to Reuters, the police actively used rubber batons and forcibly taken out of the voting, including women and elderly people from the areas.
The government of Catalonia claim that as a result of the police crackdown injured 460, and new information — more than 760 people. According to others, received from health services of Catalonia, injured 465, and two were admitted to hospitals in serious condition. The Ministry of internal Affairs also reported 12 injured police officers.
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Despite the actions of the police at polling stations in the cities and villages of Catalonia are lining up in the queue many of those wishing to cast their vote.
Carles Putteman, the head of the government of Catalonia, initially stated that if the majority of residents will vote for the separation region, the Catalan government would declare independence in the next 48 hours. Madrid said that the results of the referendum he does not recognize.
