Catalans will go to the polls to have their say on whether the region should become independent of Spain, as the government tries to prevent the vote.
In recent weeks police have already arrested local government figures, confiscated millions of ballot papers and sealed off hundreds of polling stations.
Spain’s constitutional court has ruled the referendum is at odds with the country’s constitution, and any result will have no legal status.
Activists and families were trying to keep schools occupied, with yoga sessions, film screenings and picnics, so they could be used as polling stations on Sunday.
Police, in turn, have ordered the schools vacated by 6am, three hours before polls were scheduled to open.
The main civic group behind Catalonia’s push for independence says a turnout of 1 million voters – less than a fifth of the electorate – would make the region’s secession referendum an “overwhelming success” given the Spanish government’s crackdown.
Catalan National Assembly President Jordi Sanchez said on Saturday that the central government’s efforts may inhibit turnout among the region’s 5.3 million eligible voters. It was also unclear whether the regional government would be able to distribute enough ballot equipment.
Catalan authorities had said they hoped Sunday’s referendum would generate higher turnout than the 2.3 million people who voted in a mock plebiscite in 2014. In that vote, more than 80 percent favored independence.
The Catalan government has pledged to declare independence from Spain within 48 hours of Sunday if the “yes” vote wins no matter what the turnout is.
Enric Millo, the highest-ranking Spanish official in the region, said central authorities would tolerate informal balloting in the streets of Catalonia since that cannot be considered a valid electoral vote.
He said: “They can always put a makeshift table in the street, with some buckets, and put papers in.”
But he added: “What Catalan authorities have promised, an effective referendum with legal basis and binding, is something that won’t happen.”
Spain’s Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis said: “What they are pushing is not democracy. It is a mockery of democracy, a travesty of democracy.”
Despite tensions behind the scenes, most European leaders are shying away from taking a public stand on the issue of Catalonian independence.
They’re reluctant to back either the Catalan separatists who are bucking Spanish law to hold the referendum or Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s heavy-handed efforts to block it.
The EU’s silence has been especially conspicuous since Catalan officials appealed to the bloc directly to mediate the dispute.
Catalonia is a wealthy region within Spain with its own language and culture. Should the vote take place, a “yes” vote is likely, given that most of the 40 percent of Catalans who polls show support independence are expected to cast ballots while most of those against it are not.
Hundreds gathered in the centre of Spanish capital Madrid national Spanish flags. They chanted ”Spanish unity” and “Don’t fool us – Catalonia is Spain”. Many balconies in the capital are draped with the red and yellow Spanish flag.
Some sang the Spanish fascist anthem ‘Facing the Sun’, a hymn often played during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
Additional reporting by agencies
