The Catalan government said on Sunday it will be able to go ahead with an independence referendum, despite a crackdown by the central government in Madrid, which has branded the vote illegal.
"The government today is in a position to affirm that we can celebrate the referendum of self-determination -- not as we wanted, but (it will have democratic) guarantees," Catalan government spokesman Jordi Turull told a news conference.
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Earlier that morning, thousands of Catalans gathered at designated polling stations as they sought to defy Spanish authorities by voting in a banned independence referendum that has raised fears of unrest in the wealthy north-eastern region.
The referendum, declared illegal by Spain’s central government, has thrown the country into its worst constitutional crisis in decades and raised fears of street violence as a test of will between Madrid and Barcelona plays out.
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Leading up to the referendum, Spanish police arrested Catalan officials, seized campaigning leaflets, sealed off many of the 2,300 schools designated as polling stations and occupied the Catalan government’s communications hub.
But Catalan leaders, backed by pro-independence supporters, have refused to abandon their plans. Families have occupied scores of schools earmarked as voting centres, sleeping overnight in an attempt to prevent police from sealing them off.