Catalonia chooses referendum date
Catalonia’s regional government yesterday chose 1 October as the date for a referendum on a split from Spain, stepping up the confrontation with the central government, which sees the vote as illegal.
Regional president Carles Puigdemont said Catalans will be asked to answer yes or no to a single question: “Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?”
The country’s constitutional court has already invalidated previous attempts by the north-eastern region to gain more autonomy. Several Catalan politicians, including former regional president Artur Mas, have been fined or barred from public office for holding a mock referendum in November 2014.