Date set for referendum on Catalan independence

Last week saw the Generalitat announce for the date for a referendum on independence for Catalonia, as well as the two questions that will be posed. The referendum will take place on 9th November next year and will ask “Do you want a Catalan state?” and, in the case of answering in the affirmative, “Do you want the state to be independent?”

The date – numerically expressed as 9/11/14 – has been chosen because it swaps the first two digits of 11/9/14, which is Catalonia’s national day and next year marks the 300th anniversary of the fall in Barcelona to Spain. It is not yet known whether all residents of Catalonia will be eligible to vote, or whether it will be limited to Spanish citizens, but there is plenty of time to sweat the details.

Predictable the Spanish government has said that the referendum is illegal under Spain’s constitution and it will not be allowed to take place, and there has been some talk of jailing the Catalan premier, Artur Mas. It is hard to believe that Spain would be able to get away with such a move, as international pressure would surely prevent it, but don’t believe that there aren’t people in government who would gladly take such action.

Source: FT

Tags: Independence, Referendum, socialmedia