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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Graham Russell Nicola Slawson Patrick Greenfield

Catalonia referendum: 90% voted for independence, say officials – as it happened

This liveblog is now closed. You can find all the latest details on Sunday’s events in this full report.

Updated

The Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, said earlier the referendum “only served to cause serious harm to coexistence” among Spaniards but he is “not going to close any door” to dialogue.

The pope made a plea for unity during a tour of northern Italy on Sunday. During a stop in Bologna, he told students there they had a right to culture, hope and peace and that recent populist and nationalist movements in Europe were threatening that peace.

Pope Francis didn’t refer directly to the violence of Catalonia’s banned independence referendum but urged Europeans to put aside nationalistic and other interests for the sake of unity. “Don’t be afraid of unity,” he said. “May special interests and nationalism not render the courageous dreams of the founders of the European Union in vain.”

The ugly images emanating from Barcelona and elsewhere suggest Spain has lurched into a moment of deep crisis. Are five centuries of coexistence really under threat, asks Giles Tremlett in this analysis piece:

The task of clearing up the mess begins on Monday, but there is no obvious way forward and nobody who looks capable at the moment of healing the wounds.

It may all get rapidly worse. Separatists in the Catalan parliament threaten to declare independence within 48 hours, even though the results of a referendum held in such circumstances may be widely deemed invalid. A unilateral declaration of independence might, in turn, lead to the regional government being taken over by Madrid.

Both steps would deepen the rift considerably. But since neither side was prepared to budge before the long-expected “train crash” happened on Sunday, there is little reason to hope for caution now – especially as both claim the moral high ground.

The Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, says he was bound to uphold a court decision to suspend the referendum because the country’s constitution does not allow a regional government to unilaterally call one on independence. Many would question if it needed that level of police violence.

Catalonia’s regional president, Carles Puigdemont, says he was obliged to call the referendum, because that is what separatist parties pledged to do if they won elections in 2015. Opponents in Catalonia accuse him of riding roughshod over the rules that govern even his own parliament.

In practice, a declaration of independence seems unworkable. Many Catalans who oppose separatism – a majority before Sunday – would be outraged at having their nationality changed like that. Foreign governments and international institutions would deem the declaration invalid, turning Catalonia into a pariah state within Europe.

Other arguments aside, however, the temptation to wave a red rag in front of Rajoy’s conservative government may prove too enticing.

Even before this vote, Rajoy’s refusal to consider a legal referendum – along with his history of opposing other transfers of power to Catalonia’s regional government – was largely responsible for the separatist upswing.

Footage from earlier in the day here of one emergency service pitted against another as police clash with firefighters.

Summary

Puigdemont blamed the situation in Catalonia on the “intransigence, the repression, the complete denial of reality, the hostility seen during the democratic demands made by our country”.

Carles Puigdemont, the head of the region’s government, made this video announcement earlier. He said: “On this day of hope and suffering, Catalonia’s citizens have earned the right to have an independent state in the form of a republic ... We have earned the right to be listened to, respected and recognised.”

Unions and Catalan associations have called for a region-wide strike on Tuesday due to “the grave violation of rights and freedoms”, calling on people to take to the streets in Catalonia.

Turull, the Catalan government spokesman, says authorities have calculated that a total of 770,000 votes were lost because of the disruption. “Four hundred schools [used as polling stations] have been sealed and many votes have been directly stolen,” he said.

The turnout was 42%, say Catalan officials. On Sunday afternoon, the Spanish interior ministry said police had closed 79 of the 2,315 polling stations set up for the referendum. Earlier,, the Catalan government had reported that, despite the police’s efforts, voting was taking place in 96% of polling stations.

Monday’s front page from daily newspaper La Vanguardia, the main newspaper in Catalonia. The downpage story says Puigdemont will raise the DUI – or unilateral declaration of independence – in parliament in the coming days.

The Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, has welcomed the preliminary results.

He pressed ahead with the referendum despite opposition from the Spanish state and the region’s own high court.

Jordi Turull, a Catalan regional government spokesman, said early on Monday that 90% of the 2.26 million Catalans who voted on Sunday voted in favour of independence. The region has 5.3 million voters.

He said nearly 8% of voters rejected independence and the rest of the ballots were blank or void. He said 15,000 votes were still being counted.

90% voted for independence - Catalan officials

We are restarting this blog after the Catalan government announced preliminary results for the independence referendum that showed a 90% “yes” vote. We will bring you the latest updates here.

Updated

Evening summary

We are going to close this blog now. Thanks so much for joining us today on what has been an extraordinary day in Spain’s history as Catalonia held a referendum on its independence in the face of a police crackdown.

Here’s a roundup of the evening’s events:

Here’s the full report:

Here’s more on the violence at polling stations:

Updated

More than 40 unions and associations in Catalonia have called a region-wide strike for Tuesday, after a major police crackdown on a banned independence referendum.

In a statement on Sunday, UGT and CCOO, Spain’s biggest unions, the Catalan national assembly (ANC), a powerful pro-independence civil association, and 41 other organisations called for a large-scale strike in protest against “the grave violation of rights and freedoms” today.

The statement continued:

We call all society, on employers’ organisations, business owners, unions, workers, self-employed workers, institutions and all the citizens of Catalonia to stop the ‘country’ on Tuesday, October 3.

Pro-independence Catalans often refer to the northeastern region as a “country.”

Updated

Catalonia’s Carles Puigdemont said the door had today been opened to a unilateral declaration of independence.

He said in a televised address:

With this day of hope and suffering, the citizens of Catalonia have won the right to an independent state in the form a republic.

He also said that the EU could no longer “continue to look the other way” from human rights violations around the referendum.

On the violence at polling stations, he said:

The Spanish government has today written a shameful page in its relationship with Catalonia.

His speech was welcomed by those watching on a big screen, ITN’s Dominic Reynolds reports.

Carles Puigdemont said that the “citizens of Catalonia have earned the right to have an independent state.”

Carles Puigdemont, centre, and his Cabinet giving a press statement on the Catalonia independence referendum.
Carles Puigdemont, centre, and his Cabinet giving a press statement on the Catalonia independence referendum. Photograph: Jordi Bedmar/EPA

He said official results of the vote, which have not yet announced, will be sent to the parliament to proceed.

Making a direct appeal to the EU, he said: “We Catalans have earned the right to be heard in Europe.”

Updated

Catalonia has 'earned right to statehood'

Carles Puigdemont, Catalan’s leader, has announced that the region has won the right to become an independent state with vote results expected in a few days.

More to follow.

Updated

Carles Puigdemont, the president of Catalonia, is due to speak soon we have been told. We’ll bring the key points from that press conference when we have it.

In the meantime, here’s an interesting thread from Fernando Rodriguez-Vila that is doing the rounds on Twitter and is worth a read.

Here’s a roundup of the reaction to today’s unrest in Catalonia. While some have expressed outrage at the level of violence, others perhaps mindful of separatist movements in their own nations, sounded a note of caution

Guy Verhofstadt, the European parliament’s Brexit chief, said:

I don’t want to interfere in the domestic issues of Spain but I absolutely condemn what happened today in Catalonia.

Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon said:

Regardless of views on independence, we should all condemn the scenes being witnessed and call on Spain to change course before someone is seriously hurt.

Britain’s foreign ministry said:

The referendum is a matter for the Spanish government and people. We want to see Spanish law and the Spanish constitution respected and the rule of law upheld.

Belgium prime minister Charles Michel said:

Violence can never be the answer! We condemn all forms of violence and reaffirm our call for political dialogue.

Serbian foreign minister Ivica Dacic said:

Our position is clear and principled, Spain is one of the greatest friends of Serbia.

“[Madrid] is in the same position on the issue of the territorial integrity of Serbia.

French economy minister Bruno Le Maire said:

Spain is a friendly nation, a proud people. Clearly I hope that civil peace will reign in Spain.

Updated

Here’s more from the press conference that Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy held a little earlier, via the AFP news agency.

Protests In Madrid As Catalonian Votes In ReferendumMADRID, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy speaks during a press statement about the Catalonian referendum on October 1, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. More than five million elegible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for the Catalonia’s referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)
Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy speaks during a press statement about the Catalonian referendum. Photograph: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images

Rajoy said Sunday that the rule of law had prevailed in Catalonia because an independence referendum in the region prohibited by the courts had been blocked.

“Today there has not been a self-determination referendum in Catalonia. The rule of law remains in force with all its strength,” he said in a televised address.

Security forces “performed their duty” in Catalonia and respected a court order to prevent voting from taking place, he added in his first public comments Sunday on the referendum.

“It would have been easier for everyone to look the other way,” the conservative prime minister said.

The referendum was a “real attack on the rule of law... to which the state reacted with firmness and serenity”.

Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez spoke at a press conference shortly after Mariano Rajoy.

He urged the Spanish prime minister to negotiate with Catalonia and said: “Rest assured that we will overcome this situation. I want to send Catalans and all other Spaniards a message of security.”

Sánchez said his party would guarantee this stability by “betting on peaceful coexistence, not confrontation” and by “opening a political negotiation channel that is more urgent than ever”.

Updated

Nicola Sturgeon has criticised the response from the foreign office calling it “shamefully weak”.

Tweeting a screenshot of the earlier foreign office statement, the first minister of Scotland said a true friend would tell Spain what happened today was wrong.

In a press conference a short time ago, a defiant Mariano Rajoy blamed unrest on the Catalan government.

He called the referendum “a process that has only served to sow division, to confront citizens and to provoke unwanted situations has failed” and added that it has created “serious damage to coexistence”.

He said:

The responsibility for these acts solely and exclusively falls on those who promoted the rupture of legality and coexistence ...

The vast majority of the people of Catalonia did not want to participate in the secessionists’ script. They have shown that they are law-abiding people and quietly ignored the call [to vote] … All Spaniards value their attitude.

He went on to praise Spanish police for defending role of law, thanked the EU for its support and said the actions of the Spanish government were within the law.

We cannot allow the progress of the past 40 years to be replaced by blackmail.

Today we all have reasons to trust our democracy. This only served to hurt our coexistence. I offer dialogue within law. I expect them (Catalans) to renounce to what they have done so far.

Updated

In Barcelona, people gathered to watch the Spanish prime minister’s speech on a big screen. When he said that the majority of people had not wanted to participate in the referendum, the crowd reacted with derision and anger.

The Catalan government’s pollster recently found that 70% wanted a referendum on the territory’s future, although support for independence is only 41%.

No referendum has been held in Catalonia today, says Spanish prime minister

Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy speaks during a press conference at La Moncloa palace in Madrid.
Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy speaks during a press conference at La Moncloa palace in Madrid. Photograph: Javier Soriano/AFP/Getty Images

Mariano Rajoy is now speaking in a press conference. He says: “Today there was no referendum on self-determination in Catalonia.”

The large majority of Catalonia did not want to participate in today’s referendum and they had obeyed the law, he added. He said he hoped Catalan leaders would now give up on their separatist goals and get back to political normality.

Polling stations closed in Catalonia’s controversial referendum at 8pm local time, with ballot boxes being reportedly taken to secret locations.

More from the speech to follow.

Updated

761 injured in violence, says Catalan department of health

A total of 761 people needed assistance from Catalonia’s Medical Emergency Systems, according to the Catalan department of health. A total of 335 have been hurt in Barcelona alone.

Updated

Earlier in Girona, residents were building barricades in front of polling stations to prevent police closing them before 8pm.

Here are some shots from outside a sports centre and a school.

Girona residents building barricades at a sports centre in Girona to ensure that the polling station remains open till 8pm
Residents form barricades at a sports centre in Girona. Photograph: Ivan Acuna
These bins have been used as barricades outside a school in the centre of Girona.
These bins have been used as barricades outside a school in the centre of Girona. Photograph: Jordi Sureda

Updated

If you are just joining us, catch up with this full report on today’s events in Catalonia from my colleagues Sam Jones and Stephen Burgen.

The Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy is due to speak in a press conference at 8.15pm local time. We’ll bring you the key points from that shortly.

Updated

Several leftwing Spanish politicians have demanded Mariano Rajoy’s resignation, the AFP news agency reports.

Barcelona mayor Ada Colau said the prime minister, who leads the ruling conservative Popular party (PP), “had crossed all red lines”.

“He is a coward who does not live up to his state responsibilities... as a result he must resign,” she told reporters.

Colau demanded that police stop their crackdown against the referendum, which Spain’s central government and the courts have deemed illegal.

Barcelona’s mayor Ada Colau waits outside a polling station in Barcelona earlier.
Barcelona’s mayor Ada Colau is interviewed outside a polling station in Barcelona earlier. Photograph: Jose Jordan/AFP/Getty Images

Police have baton-charged and fired rubber bullets to disperse crowds protecting polling stations in Barcelona and other towns and cities.

Videos posted on social media show police dragging voters from polling stations by their hair, throwing people down stairs and attacking Catalan firefighters who were protecting polling stations.

Catalan’s department of health said 465 people had been treated across the province in relation to the violence.

Pablo Iglesias, the leader of leftwing party Podemos, referenced PP’s allies in parliament in a series of posts on Twitter.

He said:

To open a new scenario of dialogue and coexistence, it is necessary to send the PP and Ciudadanos to the opposition.

If something breaks Spain it will be because the PP and those who support it in parliament continue to destroy democracy,” he added in messages accompanied by pictures of injured protesters, some of them bleeding.

Pablo Echenique, a leading member of Podemos, wrote on Facebook that the PP’s policies in Catalonia, could “fracture a society and destroy a country … you have to remove the tumour before it kills the patient”.

PP spokesman Fernando Martinez-Maillo defended the government, saying that “the only ones responsible for what is happening in Catalonia today is [Catalan president Carles] Puigdemont, the government of Catalonia and its partners.”

Updated

Max Borrell Espinosa was in the Jaume Balmes high school in Barcelona when riot police charged in this morning. The 17-year-old, who is not a student at the school but lives nearby, says young and old alike were beaten with truncheons.

He said:

Yesterday around 300 of us decided to spend the night in Jaume Balmes secondary school, playing sport, listening to music and watching movies in a relaxed and festive atmosphere with the aim of being able to open the school on Sunday for the referendum.

This morning, when we opened the doors, vanloads of riot police arrived. We had agreed on a policy of passive resistance to protect the ballot boxes. The aggression of the state security forces created an atmosphere of tension, beating the young and elderly alike with their truncheons.

After what happened in Jaume Balmes and many other polling stations, there is a widespread feeling among all Catalans that we are fighting to make this democratic process a reality. We are powerless faced with the repression of the Spanish government but brave enough to carry on with this process that will allow us to decide our future in a democratic fashion.

The Liberal Democrat leader, Vince Cable, has said Boris Johnson should call in the Spanish ambassador and tell him that the police response to the Catalonian independence referendum is unacceptable.

Cable said:

Police in a democracy should never drag people violently out of polling stations, whatever the arguments for or against holding a referendum. The police response looks to have been brutal and completely disproportionate.

The foreign secretary should break off from conspiring against the prime minister and call in the Spanish ambassador to tell him that this is unacceptable.

Updated

My colleague Irene Baqué has posted this video shot by her brother Pablo Baqué in the Plaza del Sol in Madrid.

People there have taken to the streets calling for Mariano Rajoy’s resignation after today’s events. They are shouting: “Go Rajoy. Here we are the anti-fascists.”

The Spanish home office has published a video on Twitter of a Guardia Civil officer being hit with a chair after he had smashed his way into a polling station.

Hello. This is Nicola Slawson taking over from Patrick. My colleague Ben Fisher has this report on Barcelona’s La Liga match against Las Palmas, which was played at an empty Camp Nou.

Barcelona continued their 100% start to life in La Liga in bizarre circumstances, beating Las Palmas 3-0 at an empty Camp Nou. The Catalan club had asked for the match to be postponed due to protests in the city over Catalonia’s independence referendum, in which more than 460 people have been injured.

That request was rejected and Barcelona, threatened with a six-point deduction according to club president Josep Maria Bartomeu, took the decision to play the match behind closed doors just 20 minutes before kick-off, leaving thousands of supporters stranded outside. A statement from La Liga said the match should take place as normal because the security and safety of fans had been “guaranteed” by the Catalan police.

“We have not been able to find a way to postpone it. From there, all together, directors, executives and players met and we decided, exceptionally, to play the game behind closed doors,” Bartomeu said. “Els Mossos [the Catalan police force] told us the game could be played normally. Playing this way, with the stadium empty, the club shows its disagreement [with the decision not to postpone the game]. The league told us we would lose six points, three from today and three as a penalty.”

Las Palmas had the national flag embroidered on to their match-day shirts to show their support for a united Spain while Barcelona emerged for the warmup wearing a yellow-and-red-striped shirt – the colours of the Estelada flag associated with Catalan independence. Earlier on Sunday, defender Gerard Piqué tweeted a photo of him voting in the referendum. “Together we are unstoppable defending democracy,” he said.

Read the full report here:

Updated

It has been a long day, and it is not over yet. I am handing over the liveblog to my colleague Nicola Slawson.

Thanks for reading and have a peaceful evening.

Updated

Voting to stop at 8pm Spanish time

The Catalan government has announced voting will not go on any longer than 8pm Spanish time, unless people are already in queues at polling stations.

The Catalan government’s spokesperson Jordi Turull is addressing media again.

Turull says 319 polling stations have been closed by police on Sunday as he condemned the violence.

What the police are doing is a real scandal, a savagery. The Spanish state is in a very difficult situation before the world... What the police is doing is truly an international embarrassment.

Updated

The Foreign Office spokesperson has commented on today’s events in Catalonia.

The referendum is a matter for the Spanish government and people. We want to see Spanish law and the Spanish constitution respected and the rule of law upheld. Spain is a close ally and a good friend, whose strength and unity matters to us.

Guy Verhofstadt makes first condemnation by a senior EU politician

I don’t want to interfere in the domestic issues of Spain but I absolutely condemn what happened today in Catalonia.

On one hand, the separatist parties went forward with a so-called referendum that was forbidden by the Constitutional Court, knowing all too well that only a minority would participate as 60 % of the Catalans are against separation.

And on the other hand - even when based on court decisions - the use of disproportionate violence to stop this.

In the European Union we try to find solutions through political dialogue and with respect for the constitutional order as enshrined in the Treaties, especially in art. 4.

It’s high time for de-escalation. Only a negotiated solution in which all political parties, including the opposition in the Catalan Parliament, are involved and with respect for the Constitutional and legal order of the country, is the way forward.


Updated

Early evening summary

  • According to the Catalan health ministry, 465 people have been injured as Catalans vote in an “illegal” referendum on the region’s independence. The two most seriously injured are in hospitals in Barcelona.
  • Although advocates stressed the right to political self-determination, the vote was banned by Spain’s constitutional court and millions of ballot papers were confiscated before the vote.
  • Local and national authorities say 336 voting centres, of more than 2,000, across the region have been closed by police.
  • Voting has been marred by a brutal police crackdown. Videos show police hitting people in the crowd with batons while voters hold up their hands, police dragging voters from polling stations by their hair, and Spanish police attacking Catalan firefighters.
  • The police action has been mostly confined to Barcelona, the Catalonian capital. There has been no police presence in the majority of voting stations throughout the region.
  • Polls have shown 70% of Catalans want to be able to vote in a referendum but they are more evenly divided when it comes to independence.
  • There have been several calls for the Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, to resign over the police response from Catalan politicians and opposition MPs.
  • Human Rights Watch has released a statement calling on Spanish authorities to respect citizens’ right to peaceful assembly and refrain from using excessive force.
  • The Labour party has condemned the police violence. Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, said: “It is unacceptable for the Spanish authorities to overreact to today’s events through aggressive police action and the forcible closure of polling stations.”
  • The European Union is yet to make an official comment.

Updated

A lot has happened in Catalonia today. If you want to read the most up to date version of events, here is the latest from the Guardian’s Sam Jones and Stephen Burgen.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has spoken out against the violence in Catalonia for a second time today.

He has asked Theresa May to speak to the Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, about the crisis and try to end the police crackdown.

Updated

The Catalan health ministry has provided more details on the 465 people injured by police violence: 216 were hurt in Barcelona, 80 in Girona, 64 in Lleida, 53 in Terres de l’Ebre, 27 in Catalunya central and 25 in Tarragona.

The two most seriously injured are in hospitals in Barcelona.

Updated

The Spanish authorities and Catalan police have released further details on the number of polling stations they have closed down today.

  • Spanish national police have closed down 46 in total (27 in Barcelona, six in Tarragona, six in Girona and seven in Lleida).
  • The Guardia Civil have closed another 46 (14 in Barcelona, 12 in Tarragona, eight in Girona and 12 in Lleida).
  • Catalan police, the Mossos, say they have closed 244 polling stations across Catalonia.
  • In total, 336 polling stations have been closed down by local and national authorities.

To put these numbers in context, the Catalan government says more than 2,000 polling stations were set up across the province for the referendum. The majority remain open.

Updated

The tension between Spanish police forces continues in Catalonia. In Sant Joan de Vilatorrada, a municipality about 30 miles from Barcelona, Guardia Civil officers and Mossos agents were recorded pushing each other as the Guardia Civil raided a polling station.

Updated

The Labour party has released a statement on the events in Catalonia.

Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, said:

Police violence in Catalonia today is shocking, and the Spanish government should take action to end it now. While we believe disputes over sovereignty should be resolved in accordance with rules and laws, and any referendum on these issues needs to be both democratic and fair, it is unacceptable for the Spanish authorities to overreact to today’s events through aggressive police action and the forcible closure of polling stations.

They must respect the right to peaceful protest, and all sides must strive to come together and reach a political solution to this constitutional crisis. Violence of any sort will simply worsen divisions, and make a resolution harder to reach.

Updated

Spain’s interior ministry has also provided an update on their operation to halt today’s independence referendum.

  • 92 “illegal” voting centres have been closed by the national police and the Guardia Civil across Catalonia.
  • Three people, including one girl, have been arrested for civil disobedience and attacking an officer.
  • Nine police officers and three members of the Guardia Civil have been injured so far.

465 injured in disorder, says Catalan government

Catalan’s department of health has said 465 people have been treated across the province in relation to the violence.

Updated

A solidarity march with Catalonia is taking place outside the European Union offices in Edinburgh.

Many commentators are concerned about the EU’s response, which has said nothing on the disorder so far.

The Guardia Civil, Spain’s military law enforcement agency, has launched a social media attack on Catalan’s local police force, the Mossos, over their response to the referendum.

A heated standoff between the two forces has been posted on a Guardia Civil Twitter page with the caption: “Some seem to be unclear. Shameful.”

Another post accuses Mossos of ignoring the Spanish court order to halt the referendum, preferring to eat a sandwich instead.

Updated

Afternoon summary

  • Catalonia’s government says 337 people have been injured, some seriously, during a police crackdown on the independence referendum this Sunday.
  • Nine police officers and two members of the Guardia Civil have been injured in the disorder, according to the Spanish interior ministry.
  • The voting has been marred by a brutal police crackdown in which several instances of violence against voters have been recorded. Videos show police dragging voters from polling stations by their hair, unprovoked attacks on protesters and Spanish police attacking Catalan firefighters.
  • There have been several calls for the Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, to resign over the police response from Catalan politicians and opposition MPs.
  • Barcelona’s La Liga fixture against Las Palmas is being played behind closed doors as a result of the disorder.

Updated

Another video of police brutality has emerged. This time, Spanish police have been recorded attacking Catalan firefighters.

Updated

Human Rights Watch has released a statement calling on Spanish authorities to respect their citizens’ right to peaceful assembly and refrain from using excessive force.

Barcelona v Las Palmas to be played behind closed doors

FC Barcelona has announced their La Liga clash with Las Palmas will be played behind closed doors.

In a statement, the Catalan club said: “FC Barcelona condemn the events which have taken place in many parts of Catalonia today in order to prevent its citizens exercising their democratic rights to free expression.

“Given the exceptional nature of events, the board of directors have decided that the FC Barcelona first team game against Las Palmas will be played behind closed doors following the Professional Football League’s refusal to postpone the game.”

The Catalan Football Federation had already suspended all matches due to referendum, but FC Barcelona are not under their jurisdiction.

Earlier today, Las Palmas announced a Spanish flag had been sewn on to their kit for the game to show support for “the unity of Spain”.

Updated

The fiery Twitter posts from the Spanish interior ministry continue.

Exposing children to this type of situation and using them during the day is another sign of intolerable unreason

Details on voter turnout in the independence referendum are sparse at the moment.

Voting has been slow because the electronic census used to count the ballot is down, and people are voting on paper, according to Spanish media.

Stephen Burgen reports that police repression has been far from systematic. He says people from all over Catalonia are sending messages saying they are voting where there is no police presence.

Updated

Radio Catalonia journalist Mar Riera Sola has posted footage of police charging at a crowd while entering the village of Sant Iscle de Vallalta, 30 miles north-east of Barcelona.

Updated

The Guardian’s Sam Jones has spoken to Jesús López Rodríguez, a 51-year-old administrator who lives opposite the Ramon Llull school, who witnessed this morning’s violent police raid on the polling station.

We were in the street from 5am. Hundreds of us were waiting to vote peacefully. The ballot boxes came at about 7.30am. Around eight o’clock, we saw seven national police vans. Half an hour later, the police came in riot gear with shields and helmets. They told us that the Catalan high court had ordered them to take the ballot boxes and they told us that we needed to disperse. We said, ‘No! No! No!’. Then about 20 police officers charged us. It was short – about two minutes – and we stayed together. I heard the chief officer telling them to retreat. But they just stopped and stayed there for about 15 minutes.

Then eight or nine national vans came and they cordoned off the surrounding streets. We were pushing back and forth until they started to arrest people. They dragged people out violently. We stood our ground but they dragged people away, kicking them and throwing them to the ground … Lots more police came - maybe 100 or more. When they saw they couldn’t get into the main building, they jumped over the fence and went in. They came out with ballot boxes 10 minutes later and they broke down the doors [of the school] with axes. They left with the ballot boxes.

There were a lot of police but we stayed there trying to vote. We looked around for other places to vote and then we came back. Half an hour later, we saw lots of police vans on Gran Vía. Then, at about 10.25am, they started to shoot rubber bullets – at least 30 or 40. People were running away, scared and totally defenceless. I ran towards the shots but my wife pulled me back. I was down there for a lot of hours this morning and I didn’t hear one insult [towards the police] … I feel really angry about it but I also hope that people in Europe and around the world see what’s happening in Catalonia.

Updated

The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has called on the Spanish government to stop the violence in Catalonia.

Updated

Stephen Burgen has spoken to Martí Pont, 19, who was among the occupants of the Escola Ramon Llull school when Spanish police arrived in force. Video footage shows officers dragging voters out by their hair and throwing people down stairs at the school.

“I was there last night and there were a couple of dozen people but when I went back at 5.30am there were maybe 300. The Mossos came, saw how many people there were, and left. A couple of hours later the ballot boxes arrived and we all started applauding. It was raining heavily. Then seven vanloads of Policia Nacional arrived. We all gathered around the front door and kept calm. There were some elderly people but no kids. Then 15 police in body armour and five more wearing balaclavas arrived. They started pushing us with their shields and throwing us aside but there were too many of us. Then more and more vanloads arrived from all sides.

They started pushing through and pulling people out. Then they broke in through another door and took away the ballot boxes and voting papers. Right then people didn’t know what to do because there were police in front and behind. They started dragging us out, often by the throat. Lots of women were dragged out by the hair. Then we saw them put the ballot boxes in a Seat, an ordinary car. We sat down in front of and behind their vans so they couldn’t leave. They took out their truncheons and began separating us. We went down carrer Marina, blocking them street by street. They started hitting us with truncheons but didn’t use their guns. We met up with another group and the police warned journalists to go away. They ran off and the police started firing rubber bullets. This was at the junction of Diputació and Sardenya. Everyone who could, fled, but others got hit, in the back and the knee. Everyone went off to find somewhere else to vote.

Updated

'What's happening is a mini revolution': eyewitness accounts

Readers have been sharing their eyewitness accounts with us –you can share yours with us here.

‘It is frightening. We are living in a world where human rights are being ignored’

What is happening at the moment is a mini revolution – the Catalans
want a referendum and right now we are waiting for Guardias to arrive as that is what has been happening elsewhere. Old people have been attacked ... We are doing what we want to do which is just vote.

It has not been violent where we are but what we are hearing and
seeing [is worrying]. Last night, I was outside the square eating sausages we cooked on the BBQ and talking about what tomorrow means and now we are talking about what Monday means and Tuesday. It is frightening. We are living in a world where human rights are being ignored. I think Catalonia deserves to be listened to.

If the rest of the world does not put its arms up and prevent the Spanish government from attacking peaceful demonstrators, then that is worrying.

I have got children with me at the moment. They know what is going on and they can feel this tension – it’s just not nice. You bring children up to be peaceful and seeing the establishment carry old ladies off. It would be great if everything news-wise shows what is really happenings.
Fiona Williamson, 44, from Barcelona

‘This is history. People say they will not move if there is violence’

Outside the polling station in Barcelona Nord

Sitting outside the polling station in Barcelona Nord, we’re here on holiday but it is fascinating to watch all these people voting. They are here to stand and be visible, we’ve talked to some people. Other stations around here are closed so more people are coming here to vote. The local Catalan police are patrolling but there is no aggravation towards them, they are not stopping the process.

Earlier today, I saw seven police vans drive by, the cars beeped their horns in protest. Catalonian flags are hanging in windows, there is graffiti for voting yes. There are no posters for no. I talked to a girl and asked if she knew anyone voting no. She said she knew some people from university, but there was no argument between them. They just wanted to vote. People clap when they leave the station. A man handed his umbrella to another pushing an elderly lady in a wheelchair. The atmosphere is friendly and momentous. People are happy to talk and share with us. This is history. They say they will not move if there is violence. It’s too important.
Caitríona O’Brien and Malachy McDermott, Irish holidaymakers in Barcelona

Updated

337 people injured in referendum disorder

The Catalan government has said 337 people have been injured “by the Spanish state police violence.” They have accused Spanish police of responding with a ‘go get them’ attitude.

The Catalan foreign minister Raül Romeva has said: “We have initiated contacts with the EU about the violation of fundamental rights that puts the very same EU at risk.

“We urge Europe’s institutions to condemn the violence that European citizens are suffering”

Updated

Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, the Spanish deputy prime minister, said in a press conference that the “absolute irresponsibility of the Catalan government has had to be dealt with by the professionalism of the state’s security forces. With firmness and and proportionality we have thrown into disarray the Generalitat’s plans. There hasn’t been a referendum nor the semblance of one. Nothing good will come of this.”

Belgium PM condemns referendum violence

Belgium prime minister Charles Michel has spoken out against the violence and called for political dialogue.

He is the first world leader to do so.

Updated

Catalonia’s ombudsman has said he will complain about the Spanish government’s tactics to European authorities including the European council, according to AP.

Rafael Ribo said on Sunday the government forces had used disproportionate tactics in “violent actions against citizens” while trying to shut down the disputed independence referendum.

Ribo, an appointee by the regional parliament who leads the office overseeing citizens’ rights, said in an emotional appearance before reporters that the Spanish government has shown “little respect for human rights”.

He called on the government to stop all violent actions against citizens.

Updated

Former Catalan president Artur Mas has told Spanish TV that the prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, should “resign immediately” from his position. He said Rajoy is in charge of a “violent state”, calling the Spanish leader “authoritarian” and “a represser”.

On police violence, Mas said: “We cannot be in a common state project which uses batons and police brutality.”

Updated

The Spanish interior ministry has tweeted a video of Guardia Civil officers running from protesters throwing rocks.

Updated

The Podemos leader, Pablo Iglesias, has spoken out against the violence again.

If something breaks Spain it will be because the PP [People’s party] and those who support it in Congress continue to destroy democracy.

Updated

The Spanish interior ministry has said nine police officers and two Guardia Civil officers have been injured while trying to stop the referendum. They also posted a video of “hooded” figures throwing objects at police in central Barcelona.

Updated

Video footage of police brutality against voters in Girona has appeared. The video shows police hitting people in the crowd with batons while voters hold up their hands.

Updated

Spanish media are reporting someone hit in the eye with a rubber bullet has been taken into surgery at Sant Pau hospital in Barcelona. The injured person is said to have been hit by a police projectile after being removed from Ramón Llull school.

Updated

Small counter protests have formed in the centre of Madrid in Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol. Groups of people are waving Spanish flags, chanting “I am Spanish” and “Spanish united, never divided.”

The Guardia Civil has broken its silence following several videos of brutality against voters. The police force said it was “resisting harassment and provocation” while completing its functions “in defence of the law”.

Updated

The Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has condemned the violence, and asked the Spanish government to let Catalans vote peacefully.

Updated

Videos of police brutality against voters are going viral on social media. Spanish journalist Héctor Juanatey has posted footage of police forcibly removing voters outside a polling station at Guinardò market in Barcelona.

Another video shows police dragging a voter out of a polling station by their hair at Ramon Llull school in the Catalan capital.

Updated

Catalan local media are reporting today’s La Liga game between Barcelona and Las Palmas may be suspended after Las Palmas announced they will wear a Spanish flag on their kit to show support for “the unity of Spain”.

In a statement, the club said: “Today, what we do is very simple. With the Spanish flag embroidered in our equipment we want to vote unequivocally in an imaginary vote to which nobody has summoned us: we believe in the unity of Spain.”

Updated

Barcelona’s footballers have expressed their support for today’s referendum. Former captain Carles Puyol tweeted “voting is democracy” this morning, while Catalan defender Gerard Piqué posted a photo casting a vote.

Former Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez said what is happening in Catalonia is “an embarrassment”, and called for the Spanish state to let Catalans vote in peace.

Updated

The Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, has told reporters that “violence will not stop Catalans from voting”. The Catalan government says 38 people have been treated by emergency services in the disorder.

Updated

The Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has tweeted about the ”shocking” scenes in some parts of Catalonia this morning.

Updated

38 people treated by emergency services

Catalonia’s government says 38 people have been treated by emergency services due to “repression by Spanish police”.

Updated

The Spanish interior minister, Juan Ignacio Zoido, has described the response of the Guardia Civil and Spanish police as “proportional and professional”, posting a video of an officer helping a father and child in Sant Julia de Ramis, Girona.

Barcelona mayor calls on Spanish PM to resign

Barcelona’s mayor, Ada Colau, has called on the Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, to resign and demanded police stop using violence against voters.

Police action against the peaceful population must stop. Today, in Catalonia and in the state, we have to demand it. #ResignRajoy

Updated

Videos of Spanish police removing ballot boxes at Ramon Llull school in Barcelona while voters chant “we will vote” have been posted on social media.

The Guardian’s Madrid correspondent Sam Jones has been speaking to more voters:

Joaquin Pons, 89, was also delighted to have cast his ballot, as he had done in the symbolic referendum held three years ago.

“Last time it was cardboard ballot boxes,” he said. “This time they were real. It was very emotional.” Pons said that he felt Catalans had had little choice but to proceed unilaterally.

“It would have been nice if we could all have stayed together in Spain but the Madrid government has made it impossible. It’s sad but that’s the way it is.”

Updated

There are still long lines of people waiting to cast their vote across Catalonia. El Pais journalist Alfonso Congostrina has posted a video of voters queuing round the corner in central Barcelona.

Blai Antonio, a 76-year-old retired taxi driver emerged from the polling station at the Escuela Mireia triumphant and with tears in his eyes. Pushing through a cheering crowd, he said: “The experience of being able to vote has given me a satisfaction I could never have dreamed of. It would have been impossible under Franco – although his heirs are still in power. Catalan independence is important so that we can live in a democracy, which Spain isn’t. We send all our money to the government and get crumbs in return.”

Antonio said that, unlike some others, he had been able to vote in peace. “The oppressive police haven’t come here yet but we still have the whole day ahead of us and they could come and steal the ballot boxes with our votes in them. We just want to be able to vote free of the oppression of any state.”

Blai Antonio, a 76-year-old retired taxi driver, at Escuela Mireia polling station
Blai Antonio, a 76-year-old retired taxi driver, at Escuela Mireia polling station Photograph: Sam Jones

Updated

More from Stephen Burgen:

Catalan government spokesman Jordi Turull has announced that 73% of polling stations have been able to open and asked for patience as “there are constant attacks on the computer system.

Updated

'Rubber bullets fired by Spanish police'

There are several reports on social media of Spanish police firing rubber bullets at people queuing to vote in the referendum. Princeton researcher Jordi Graupera posted a video of what appears to be a member of the Guardia Civil firing into the crowd.

Updated

The Spanish interior ministry has asked Catalan schools to collaborate with their operation to halt the referendum. A video of Spanish police confiscating urns in a sports hall in Sant Carles de la Rápita, Tarragona, was also posted on its Twitter page.

Updated

Sam Jones, the Guardian’s Madrid correspondent, writes:

Despite several reports of polling stations being closed down by Spanish police across Catalonia, the Guardian’s Sam Jones says hundreds of people are still queuing up to vote at Cervantes primary school and Escuela Mireia in Barcelona. People waiting in line to vote are cheering those who have already managed to do so.

Cervantes primary school, Barcelona
Cervantes primary school, Barcelona Photograph: Sam Jones in Catalonia

Updated

Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias has also been reacting to the intervention by Spanish police.

He writes: “Bumps, shoves, old women dragged. What the PP is doing to our democracy is repugnant to me. Corrupt, hypocritical, useless. Is this your ‘victory’ Mariano Rajoy?”

Updated

The Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, has voted in Cornellà de Terri, a village in Girona province. Catalan politician Jordi Sánchez posted a picture of the moment.

Updated

Stephen Burgen writes:

Not every polling station has been raided. There is a big crowd at Concepció primary school in Barcelona just around the corner from Balmes school which police have already raided but no sign of police so far here.

Updated

Barcelona’s mayor, Ada Colau, has tweeted her discontent about the Spanish police’s intervention in the referendum.

She writes: “A cowardly president has filled our city with police. Barcelona, city of peace, is not afraid.”

Updated

Enric Millo, Spain’s highest representative in Catalonia, has been speaking to reporters. He said: “The sole objective of today’s operation has been to ensure that this illegal referendum does not take place and the Spanish and Catalan people can continue to live in peace and liberty as they have these past 40 years.

“The referendum has not taken place. We will not accept that a government kidnapped by a minority imposes its ideas on society.

Updated

El Pais journalist Josep Cata has tweeted a photo of the first vote being cast in Sant Jaume de Frontanyà, the smallest village in Catalonia. He says local police arrived when voting opened, but did nothing to prevent people from casting their vote.

Videos of Spanish police in riot gear removing urns from polling stations continue to appear on social media.

Stephen Burgen, who is reporting for the Guardian today, says police have taken away the ballot box in Sant Julià de Ramis in Girona province, where the Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, votes.

Updated

Our Madrid correspondent Sam Jones is with voters in a school Barcelona. He reports:

All is calm at the Escola Cervantes with Mossos hanging back but getting twitchy. The same isn’t true elsewhere in Barcelona. The scenes of Spanish national police in riot gear clearing polling stations in other schools are not going down well with the crowds.

Updated

The Spanish interior minister, Juan Ignacio Zoido, has just tweeted a video of police removing urns. He says the police are enforcing their legal mandate against the “illegal referendum”.

Updated

Polls open

Large queues have been forming outside polling stations overnight as Catalans wait anxiously to cast their vote, but there are already reports of Spanish national police in riot gear removing people from occupied schools and taking away ballot boxes from polling stations in Barcelona.

La Vanguardia correspondent Mayka Navarro just tweeted a video of Spanish police appearing to push voters back in the centre of the Catalan capital.

Updated

Opening summary

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of referendum day in Catalonia.

Spain is bracing itself for an unprecedented challenge to its territorial unity as the Catalan regional government stages an independence referendum that has been suspended by the country’s constitutional court and dealt a series of devastating blows by the central government in Madrid.

The Catalan government has predicted that 60% of Catalonia’s 5.3 million eligible voters are heading to the polls in defiance of the Spanish government and constitutional court, which have declared the vote illegal.

Neither the rain nor the Spanish authorities are discouraging many Catalans from turning out to try to vote. Hundreds of people have been queuing outside the polling station at the Cervantes primary school in central Barcelona since 5am. Inside are dozens of people - adults and children - who have been camped out since Friday night in the hope that their occupation will allow the school to be used a a voting centre.

Joan Garcia, an agricultural engineer who’s just spent his second night there, reports that people slept well. Officers from the regional police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra, are under orders to empty polling stations and seal them off. But that’s not happening here. The police, who were greeted with a cheerful “Bom dia!” from the crowd, are coming and going but not intervening so far.The people who have gathered to vote are in good spirits despite the rain, but deadly serious about why they have come.

“I’ve been here since 5.15,” said 43-year-old Mireia Estape, who lives locally. “I’m here to fight for our rights and our language and for our right to live better and to have a future.”

Asked how likely it was that people would be allowed to cast their ballots, she was insistent: “We will vote today.”

One man in the crowd, who did not wish to be named, said that Catalans had a right to vote.

“I’m European, not African. In Africa they don’t let people vote.” He said he had come to because, “Catalans need to vote. They’re robbing us in Spain”.

It would, he said, would be a great day: “Spain has lost 22 colonies. Today it’s going to lose another.”

Another would-be voter was blunter about her motivation: “I don’t want to live in a fascist country.”

There was a moment of panic at ten to eight, when a car moved towards the crowd. But it turned out it was carrying a ballot box that was quickly taken inside to cheers and shouts of “Votarem!” (“We will vote!”).

Within 10 minutes, the organisers inside announce that voting would begin at 9am. The Mossos continued to maintain a discreet distance. Asked how he was feeling, one officer replied, with a shrug, “Well, here we are, aren’t we?”

Updated

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