Catalunya passes law allowing 'IndyRef' on October 1
Thursday, September 7, 2017 @ 3:35 PM
CATALUNYA'S regional government has passed the required legislation to allow it to go ahead with its independence referendum on October 1, thrusting Spain's central Parliament into panic.
Enough pro-secession or at least, pro-decision parties in Catalunya voted in favour, meaning the 'no' votes of the right-wing PP, left-wing socialists and centre-right Ciudadanos – or Ciutadans, as they are known in the north-eastern region – were not enough to stop the controversial law reform going ahead.
Parties determined to make secession happen include those who make up the regional coalition government – the CUP and Junts pel Sí ('Together for Yes').
In total, 72 out of the 135 regional MPs voted for the law reform.
The regional Parliamentary debate went all literally all day, not finishing until 23.30 when Catalunya's president Carles Puigdemont signed the necessary decree.
Left-wing Podemos, whose Catalunya faction is known as SiQueEsPot and covers the Barcelona-based En Comú Podem, abstained, meaning 11 votes out of 135 lost to the separatists.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com