Separatist parties won an absolute majority of seats in Catalonia’s regional parliament on Sunday, deepening a standoff with Spain’s central government over independence.
The main secessionist group “Junts pel Si” (Together for Yes) won 62 seats in the 135-strong assembly in Spain’s wealthy northeastern region, while smaller leftist party CUP won another 10 seats, official results showed.
They jointly won 47.33 percent of the vote.
“Catalans have voted yes to independence,” acting Catalan regional government head Artur Mas told supporters after 70.78 percent of the vote was counted.
Both secessionist parties have said that they will unilaterally declare independence within 18 months, something the central government in Madrid says it will block in court because the Spanish constitution does not allow it.
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