Millions cast ballots in neck-and-neck Catalonia vote

BARCELONA, Spain — Catalan voters turned up in force Thursday for a regional election seen as a crucial test of strength for the powerful movement that wants Catalonia to secede from Spain.

The vote was called by the Spanish government in an attempt to end the political crisis that erupted in October over a banned referendum on independence.

Opinion polls before the vote had predicted a close race between the separatist and unionist parties, and the two sides were neck-and-neck after half of the ballots had been counted Thursday.

Voters were choosing between parties who want Catalonia to remain part of Spain and those who want to continue the push for turning the northeastern region into an independent republic.

Official results were expected late Thursday.

Catalonia’s election board said that 68.3 per cent, or 3.75 million of 5.5 million eligible voters, had cast ballots by 6 p.m., more than five percentage points higher than in the last regional election in 2015. Surveys in recent weeks had predicted record turnout numbers, but a final figure wasn’t immediately given so it’s not clear if that milestone had been reached.

The election was held with several proindependence leaders either jailed or in exile for their roles in staging the Oct. 1 independence vote that was declared illegal by Spain’s highest court. Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont campaigned from Belgium, where he is evading a Spanish arrest warrant.

“It’s not normal, an election that takes place with candidates in prison and candidates in exile,” Puigdemont said in the Belgian capital.

No incidents were reported during the election Thursday.