Catalan Parliament votes for independence
The following news article is based on a report by CNN.
The Catalan Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of declaring independence from Spain on Friday, taking the country’s deepening political crisis into uncharted territory.
The vote brought to a head a weeks-long standoff with Madrid that began with a disputed referendum on October 1. Soon after the Spanish Senate approved the Madrid government’s unprecedented plans to seize control of the autonomous region.
The Spanish government is now expected to begin moves at the weekend to remove from office the Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and his ministers, and impose direct rule over the region.
Lawmakers voted in secret in the Catalan Parliament chamber after a heated debate on a motion “to form the Catalan Republic as an independent and sovereign state.”
The outcome: 70 votes in favor, 10 against and two blanks. Opposition lawmakers walked out of the chamber ahead of the vote.
Within minutes, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy tweeted an appeal for calm.”I ask all Spaniards to remain calm. The rule of law will restore legality in Catalonia,” he said.
