Voter turnout in the de facto referendum on Catalan independence was expected to reach record highs on Sunday as people across the region queued to cast their ballot in an election billed as the most important in the region’s history.
By midday, authorities said nearly 35% of eligible voters had already cast their ballot, a rise of five percentage points on the same period in the 2012 elections. Meritxell Borràs, the top electoral official for the regional government, attributed the rise in participation to the significance of these elections.
“It’s very positive. These are very important elections and the citizens are demonstrating this by heading out to vote in a major way,” she said.
The Catalan president, Artur Mas, described the vote itself as a victory for the region. “Today there will be a plebiscite on the future of Catalonia,” he said as he cast his vote. “We overcome all the obstacles that the Spanish state put up … Democracy has won in Catalonia, Spain, Europe and the world.”
After the central government in Madrid blocked attempts by Catalan leaders to hold a referendum on independence, Mas called early elections that he said would act as a de facto poll on the issue. If his separatist party, Junts pel Sí, earns a majority of seats, Mas has pledged to lead a transitional government that would begin the process of breaking away from Spain.
As Catalans queued on Sunday to vote in the region’s third election in five years, analysts said the high turnout could yield a surprise result. While polls to date have suggested the separatists could earn a slim majority, Spain’s governing People’s party focused its campaign efforts on addressing what it called the silent majority of Catalans who oppose independence.
“You need to vote to put an end to this mess,” the prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, told supporters on Friday. “They want you to stay at home … If you stay quiet, they’ll win.”
Sunday’s vote is being watched closely, billed as a make or break moment for the region of 7.5 million people. “It is the most important election since Spain’s return to democracy,” declared the centre-right national newspaper El Mundo. The Catalan daily La Vanguardia called it “an unavoidable vote”.
Barcelona’s mayor, Ada Colau, said she hoped voter turnout would be high. “We can’t predict the result, but the city of Barcelona will support it in order to achieve a Catalonia that is more just and democratic,” said the leftist mayor, who had remained neutral during the campaign.
