Polls open Sunday in mock vote for Catalonia to break from Spain

World Today

The people of Catalonia in the northeast of Spain will head to the polls in a few hours, when it’s expected they’ll vote in overwhelming numbers for independence. The central government in Madrid has branded illegal what separatist campaigners in the country’s Northeast call a symbolic ‘citizen’s consultation.’ CCTV America’s Richard Bestic reported the story from Barcelona.

Supporters of Union with Madrid have made their anger apparent, calling talk of breaking up Spain a cause for acrimony.

The answer to Catalonia’s question may be a foregone conclusion. It doesn’t mean, though, that tempers don’t flare. A surge of passion over independence for the region of 7.5 million people has gripped national and international attention.

Madrid was still ignoring the vote, which it called an illegal act. Meanwhile, Moscow’s interested to see if there exist parallels with the disputed elections in Donetsk on Ukraine’s eastern border with Russia. Rome’s is also watching as an independence movement grows in Venice.