Catalan independence referendum, 2017

Catalan independence referendum, 2017
Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?
Location	Catalonia, Spain
Date	1 October 2017 (2017-10-01)
Results Votes  % Yes 2,020,144 91.96% No 176,565 8.04% Valid votes 2,196,709 97.10% Invalid or blank votes 65,715 2.9% Total votes 2,262,424 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 5,343,358 42.34%
Results by county   Yes   No
Provisional results. Source: Generalitat de Catalunya

The regional Government of Catalonia held a referendum on Catalan independence on 1 October 2017. This referendum was first called for in June 2017 and was approved by the Catalan parliament in a session on 6 September 2017 along with a law which states that independence would be binding with a simple majority, without requiring a minimum turnout. Opposition parties refused to participate in the session and have called on their voters to boycott the vote, except Catalunya Sí que es Pot who abstained but supports participation. The law is illegal according to the Catalan Statutes of autonomy which require a two third majority in the Catalan parliament for any change to Catalonia's status. The referendum itself is also illegal according to the Spanish constitution. It was suspended by the Constitutional Court on 7 September 2017, with the Catalan government stating the court order was not valid for Catalonia and proceeding to gather the support of 750 of 948 municipalities of Catalonia, including a partial support by Barcelona. This led to a constitutional crisis in Spain and started a police operation to stop the referendum.

The Government of Spain opposes any Catalan self-determination referendum, because the Spanish Constitution does not allow for a vote on the independence of any Spanish region while also deeming it illegal without its consent. This interpretation is also favoured by the Catalan Statutory Guarantees Council. However, the Catalan government invokes the right to self-determination for calling the referendum.

Following a constitutionality check demanded by the Spanish government, the Constitutional Court of Spain annulled the resolution emanated by the Parliament of Catalonia to hold such a vote. The Government of Catalonia, though, maintained that the vote would still be held on 1 October.

The Catalan government had aimed to thwart legal action on behalf of the Spanish government by rushing a referendum law through its own parliament, by simple majority, in September declaring that it would then follow a "Catalan-only" legality (as opposed to the general Spanish one). Spain's deputy prime minister, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, had notified the Catalan government in advance that the state would strike down the referendum law right after it was passed.

On the day of the poll, the passivity of the Mossos d'Esquadra (the autonomous police force of Catalonia) prevented the closure of the polling stations, which caused the intervention of the National Police Corps and the Guardia Civil; 893 people and 39 agents of the Nacional Police and the Guardia Civil were injured. The Mossos d'Esquadra are being investigated for a delict of civil disobedience, for not having complied with the orders of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia to prevent the referendum.

Background

Pro-independence flags in Barcelona

Anti-independence graffiti in Badalona

The ballot was initially scheduled for no later than 17 September 2017, a result of an election pledge made by pro-independence parties ahead of the 2015 Catalan election (during the previous legislature, the Catalan government had held a non-binding "citizen participation process" about the question).

The election resulted in a minority government for the Junts pel Sí coalition (JxSí), which had won a plurality of MPs (62 of the 135 seats), plus conditional support from the 10 CUP-CC MPs. Shortly after the government was formed, it resolved to hold a referendum on independence.

2014 self-determination referendum

Main article: Catalan self-determination referendum, 2014

2015 regional election

Main article: Catalan regional election, 2015

Declaration of the Initiation of the Process of Independence

Main article: Declaration of the Initiation of the Process of Independence of Catalonia

Course of events

Demonstration for Catalan independence in 2010

On 24 January 2017, the Government of Catalonia held a privately organised conference in one of the rooms of the European Parliament in its Brussels headquarters. The event, entitled "The Catalan Referendum", was promoted by Carles Puigdemont, President, Oriol Junqueras, Vice President, and Raül Romeva. It was attended by 500 people, among whom were MEPs, diplomats and journalists from the international media.

Organisation

The Catalan government's decree officially calling the referendum was expected to be approved in the second half of August but was approved only on 6 September.

Shortly after the referendum was announced, attention focused on the issue of the ballot boxes, since the Government of Spain is in charge of providing them, whereas for this non-State-sanctioned vote, the Generalitat would have to put them in place, potentially risking prosecution for the misuse of public funds. On 24 March, the Spanish Public Prosecutor's Office in Catalonia had already announced an inquiry to determine whether a referendum is in the planning.

Tendering by the Catalan government for materials such as ballot papers and envelopes for a putative regional election in the region are thought by some to be an attempt to covertly organise the referendum.

In terms of its organisation, the electoral roll is one of the main points in contention, since this is managed by the National Institute of Statistics, an autonomous organisation placed under the jurisdiction of the government of Spain. To access its data, polls must have been authorised by the Spanish Congress, something which is out of the question in this case. Without an undisputed access to the electoral roll, the results may be deemed unreliable. Similar difficulties could be met when it comes to the electoral commission to be formed for monitoring the polling and results.

An official announcement by the Generalitat suggested that Catalan residents overseas willing to vote would have to register. By the end of June 2017, out of 285,000 Catalans living abroad and eligible to vote, 5,000 had registered.

Demonstration in Bilbao, Basque Country in solidarity with Catalan independence referendum, 16 September 2017

Tensions within the Catalan government

Main article: 2017 Spanish constitutional crisis

On 3 July 2017, president Puigdemont sacked his Minister for Enterprise, Jordi Baiget, who, in the face of the legal challenges, had just expressed doubts regarding the referendum taking place as envisioned by the Catalan government.

Then, on 14 July, Puigdemont proceeded with a cabinet reshuffle, replacing three additional ministers in his cabinet (the ones responsible for Presidency, Education and Interior) in a move widely seen as a removal of the remaining hesitant voices within his cabinet in regards to the referendum issue.

On 17 July, the chief of Catalan police, called Mossos d'Esquadra, resigned without giving any reason. The Catalan police force is seen as key to enforcing any court orders sought by the central government challenging the secession vote.

Additional isolated resignations and dismissals have been noted among some of the high-level civil servants potentially playing a role with the vote's organisation.

Protests in Barcelona after Spanish police raided Catalan government buildings, 20 September 2017

Scope

When the Spanish Constitutional court suspended the law on the referendum on 7 September 2017, it forbade several Catalan office holders, the Catalan media, as well as the 948 municipalities of Catalonia to participate in the preparation of the referendum. The municipalities were instructed to reply within 48 hours whether they intended to comply or not. Out of 726 municipalities that answered, 682 announced that they will support the referendum anyway, 41 announced they would refuse to support it, and three, including the municipality of Barcelona, answered without making their intentions clear. Among those that refused to support the referendum, however, there are large population centers, such as the provincial capitals of Lleida (140,000 inhabitants) and Tarragona (130,000 inhabitants) or the cities of Terrassa (215,000 inhabitants) and Hospitalet de Llobregat (250,000 inhabitants) governed by PSC mayors. The mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, while refusing to make a statement whether the municipality of Barcelona would provide logistic support to the referendum or not, strongly criticised the "language of testosterone" and the pressure that she said was being exerted on the municipalities. Nevertheless, she announced that she would do anything possible to allow those in Barcelona who wished to vote to do so.

Police operation to stop the referendum

A Spanish officer of the National Police Corps in riot gear outside the front of the headquarters of the Catalan political party, Popular Unity Candidacy, on 20 September 2017

Main article: Operation Anubis

On 20 September 2017, following orders of the trial court number 13, the Spanish Civil Guard started Operation Anubis. During the first day, the police officers raided different headquarters of the Generalitat de Catalunya and arrested 14 people, including high-ranking persons, administrative staff, and company CEOs involved in the preparation of the referendum. Simultaneously, several printing companies were searched for ballot papers and ballot boxes. Crowds spontaneously gathered around the regional ministries to support the arrested staff and later on several pro-independence organisations, including the Catalan National Assembly and Omnium Cultural, and called for "peaceful resistance" against the police operation.

During the following days the Spanish Civil Guard and the Spanish National Police would be reinforced with police officers from the rest of Spain, which are expected to reach 16,000 police and military police officers distributed in different Catalan cities on 1 October 2017, and would continue to carry out searches in companies that allegedly had referendum ballots or ballot boxes. This would spark multiple protest demonstrations all across Catalonia, including cacerolazos during the night. Several other cities of Spain also organised demonstrations against the police operation.

Administration

Ballot paper that the Catalan government intended to use in the referendum, in Catalan, Castilian Spanish and Aranese Occitan, the three official languages of Catalonia

Date

The Catalan Government announced it planned to hold the referendum on 1 October 2017.

Eligibility to vote

The following people are, according to the Catalan government, entitled to vote in the referendum:

• Those who have the political condition of Catalan, are 18 years of age or older on the voting day, are not under any of the situations that legally deprive the right to vote and are on the electoral roll.
• Those Catalans currently residing abroad and who have their last residence in Catalonia, fulfil all the legal requirements, and have formally applied to take part in the voting process.

Electoral supervision

The Electoral Commission of Catalonia was responsible for overseeing the referendum.

Question

The question of the referendum was asked "Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?".

Ballot question

English	Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?
Catalan	Voleu que Catalunya sigui un estat independent en forma de república?
Spanish	¿Quiere que Cataluña sea un estado independiente en forma de república?
Occitan	Voletz que Catalonha vengue un estat independent en forma de republica?

Campaign

The campaign was planned to last 15 days, spanning from 00:00 on 15 September 2017 to 24:00 on 29 September 2017.

Economic repercussions

As of August 2017 the spread between Spanish 10-year government debt and German bonds was close to its narrowest in seven years; however, since the start of July the yield on the Catalan regional government's bonds had jumped by about 50 basis points, signalling unease among investors in regards to the referendum issue.

Hardliners within the secessionist movement have threatened to call for a general strike in case the referendum eventually does not take place.

Stratfor suggested financial market disruption due to the political upheaval. Predrag Dukic, senior equity sales trader at CM Capital Markets Bolsa, wrote: "The independence movement seeks to paralyze the region with strikes, disobedience, etc., a nightmare scenario for what until yesterday seemed a strong Spanish economic recovery." Markus Schomer, chief global economist at PineBridge Investments, suggested that the uncertainty both in and outside of Spain has made it hard to price the scenarios into final markets so far. Further he commented a strong approval could result in a euro −0.0255% sell off, just as in the aftermath of the German federal election the previous week. "I don’t think there is an immediate change coming from that referendum. It'll take quite a bit longer to assess where this is going and what this will mean, how the EU will react, how the Spanish government will react. So I don't think you'll see people adjusting their portfolios on Monday, but you could get the classic knee-jerk, risk-off reaction."

Responses

One of the many gatherings across the Basque Country in support of the Catalan vote (Zarautz)

Domestic

• Basque Autonomous Community: The regional parliament showed its sympathy and support for the referendum and strongly criticised the Spanish government's stance on the issue. It denounced any measures taken against the vote or 'democracy' altogether. ETA, for its part, issued a statement endorsing the referendum.
• Navarre: The parliament of Navarre denounced the Spanish government's de facto 'takeover' of the Catalan devolution and urged it to stop its repressive approach.

UN member states

• China: In response to a journalist's question, on 28 September 2017 foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said that the People's Republic of China believes "the issue of Catalonia belongs to the domestic affairs of Spain. We believe that the Spanish central government can properly handle relevant issues and maintain national solidarity, unity and prosperity".
• France: On 16 June, President Emmanuel Macron stated that he considers the question of Catalan independence as an internal issue of Spain.
• Germany: On 8 September, Steffen Seibert, the spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel, stated that Germany was interested in stability in Spain and that for this it was necessary that the law, including the Spanish constitution, was respected at all levels. The German government had issued a similar statement previously in 2015.
• Hungary: On 18 September, government spokesman Zoltán Kovács announced that they would "respect the will of the people". At the same time, he called the independence issue an "internal issue of Spain and Catalonia".
• Lithuania:
  • Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė said that the referendum on Catalonia's independence did not comply with the Spanish Constitution, but to use force is a failure of the Spanish authorities. The President believes that Madrid and Barcelona will, in any case, speak with one another and look for solutions to democratic problems
  • On 28 September, Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius commented that Baltic states' movement to gain independence from the Soviet Union is not comparable with situation in Catalonia due to Spain being a democracy that follows the rule of law. At the same time he urged both parties to have a constructive dialogue without any unnecessary measures.
• Portugal: Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva declined to comment on the referendum in Catalonia on 27 September, but believes that the Spanish government will be able to resolve the issue, in agreement with the Spanish constitution and law. Augusto Santos Silva said that this is an internal affair of Spain.
• Russia: The head of the international affairs committee at Russia’s upper house Konstantin Kosachev called on the Spanish government to lead a dialogue with the Catalans. Otherwise their contradictions will only deepen, which could end with the breakup of the state, as it is also shown in Ukraine. This polling, like the earlier polling in Iraqi Kurdistan, "is another clear and evident clash of the basic principles the humanity follows: the territorial integrity and the right to self-determination." "A state should be talking to its citizens, should reach accord. Like we are doing in Russia."
• Serbia: Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić, in a interview with Deutsche Welle, stated that Catalonia wants to repeat the example of Kosovo, by declaring unilateral independence without any agreement from Madrid. He stated that Serbia cannot accept such a model and that it is not a political issue but a problem of international law.
• Slovenia: Speaker of the National Assembly Milan Brglez stated that the "Catalans have the right to self-determination".
• United Kingdom: Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson described the referendum as an internal issue for Spain, saying "Spain is a close ally and a good friend, whose strength and unity matters to the UK", while also insisting rule of law be upheld.
• United States: On 13 April, the embassy in Madrid stated that the U.S. sees the question of Catalan independence as an internal issue of Spain. On 26 September, President Donald Trump, during his meeting with Mariano Rajoy, said that "Spain is a great country and it should remain united", but expressed his doubts on whether a referendum will be held, stating that "I think that nobody knows if they are gonna have a vote. The President would say they are not going to have a vote. But I think that the people would be very much opposed to that." Earlier that month, the State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert insisted in that the referendum is an internal affair of Spain and that the US "will work with whatever government or entity that comes out of it".

International organisations and institutions

• European Union: On 7 September, Antonio Tajani, the President of the European Parliament, stated in a letter to Spanish MEP Beatriz Becerra (UPyD) that the constitutional order of each EU member state needed to be respected at all times. He also stated that if a territory would secede from a EU member state, it would become a third country with respect to the EU and the EU treaties would no longer apply there.

  On 14 September, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said that the EU "would follow and respect the rulings of the Spanish constitutional court and parliament". Further, while the EU would respect the choice if a "yes" for Catalan independence were to come to pass, Juncker stated that Catalonia could not become an EU member the day after the vote.

• Council of Europe: The Council of Europe, when consulted by Carles Puigdemont, said that any referendum must be carried out "in full compliance with the constitution".
• United Nations: The UN has refused to participate in the monitoring of the referendum.

  On 23 September, the UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order, Alfred de Zayas, issued a media statement where he advocates for the right of self-determination of Catalan people, reminding "[t]he Spanish Constitution itself stipulates in its articles 10 and 96 the supremacy of international law and in particular international human rights law over of domestic law" and that "self-determination is not limited to the decolonisation context".

Other political parties, groups and sub-national goverments

• United Kingdom:
  • Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the UK Labour Party, issued a statement condemning the violence in Catalonia and called on the British government to appeal to the Spanish government to end its crack-down in Catalonia. Later, previous Labour leader Ed Milliband issued a similar statement, describing scenes as "appalling" and saying "the U.K. government cannot just stay silent".
  • Northern Ireland: Michelle Gildernew, the Sinn Féin MP for Fermanagh South Tyrone, called for international recognition of the referendum.
  • Scotland: On 16 September, Fiona Hyslop, the Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for External Affairs, said: "The decision over Catalonia's future direction is a matter for the people who live there, and the Catalan and Spanish Governments are perfectly entitled to take positions for and against independence. However, all peoples have the right to self-determination and to choose the form of government best suited to their needs, a principle which is enshrined in the UN Charter."
  • Wales: First Minister Carwyn Jones of Welsh Labour talked of "violence replacing democracy and dialogue", while leader of Plaid Cymru Leanne Wood criticised this position describing violence as "not on both sides".
• Ireland: Mick Barry TD of Solidarity attended the referendum as an international observer, the party condemned the violence and showed support for the declaration of a general strike
  • Dublin: On 22 September, in a letter to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Mícheál MacDonncha, regretted the legal prosecution of over 700 Catalan Mayors and urged them "to find a political solution to Catalonia’s legitimate claims and ask you to stop threats on my fellow Mayors".
• Denmark: A group of 17 Danish MPs from seven parties criticised the growing tensions in the weeks before the referendum and called on the Spanish government to play a constructive role and encourage political dialogue.
• European Union Parliament: Gregor Gysi, the chairman of the Party of the European Left, condemned the arrests by the Guardia Civil in the run-up to the referendum and called for a political solution to the problem.
• Italy:
  • Lega Nord leader Matteo Salvini expressed his solidarity to the Catalan people and his support to the referendum after the arrests of 14 Catalan government officials.
  • Sardinia: After the actions of the Spanish government against the referendum, the regional government of Sardinia offered to the government of Catalonia by resolution of the regional council to print ballots for the referendum and to guard them, rejecting the actions of the Spanish government against the referendum and their negative attitude towards dialogue.
• Flanders: On 20 September, the Minister-President of the Flemish Region Geert Bourgeois said: "I regret the recent escalation with a display of power from both the police and court in the Catalan capital and I urgently call upon the Spanish government to go into dialogue with the Catalan government, the legitimate representative of the Catalan people. If this is currently impossible, there must be international mediation."
• Switzerland: On 27 September, a group of MPs from all parties of the Council of States sent a letter to the Spanish government supporting the Catalan referendum, stating that "without taking a decision on the choice to be made, we believe that the right of the Catalan people to determine their future must be respected", and condemning the arrests of people and seizure of voting material as "unworthy of a modern and democratic state".
• Rojava: On 29 September, TEV-DEM declared their support for the referendum.

Opinion polls

On the 1 October 2017 referendum

Pollsters generally started using the proposed referendum question ("Do you want Catalonia to be an independent state in the form of a republic?") after it was revealed in early June 2017.

The Centre for Opinion Studies (Centre d'Estudis d'Opinió, CEO) polled respondents on their intentions rather than asking them the actual referendum question. In its March 2017 poll, aside from asking respondents whether they would want Catalonia to become an independent state, it asked their intents in the event of a referendum on the independence of Catalonia being called and organised by the Generalitat without agreement from the Spanish Government. In a July 2017 poll a similar question was proposed, with the difference that it asked about the actual 1 October referendum.

Overall

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Yes	No	Other/ Abst.	?	Lead
Opinòmetre/Ara	16 Sep 2017	1,000	44.1	38.1	3.9	13.9	6.0
NC Report/La Razón	1–8 Aug 2017	800	41.5	48.6	–	9.9	7.1
Opinòmetre/Ara	17–20 Jul 2017	1,000	41.9	37.8	4.2	16.1	4.1
GESOP/CEO	26 Jun–11 Jul 2017	1,500	39.0	23.5	23.0	14.5	15.5
NC Report/La Razón	29 Jun–1 Jul 2017	800	44.0	48.6	–	7.4	4.6
GAD3/La Vanguardia	23–29 Jun 2017	?	42.5	37.6	10.2	9.7	4.9
DYM/El Confidencial	22–28 Jun 2017	531	47.0	44.4	–	8.6	2.6
Opinòmetre/Ara	12–15 Jun 2017	1,000	42.3	38.9	6.0	12.8	3.4
GESOP/CEO	6–21 Mar 2017	1,500	43.3	22.2	28.6	5.9	21.1

Certain to vote

(Note: voters who were not willing to vote were primarily those opposed to independence and/or a referendum being held, so support for independence among those who were certain to vote was expected to be high.)

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout	Yes	No	?	Lead
The National	30 Sep 2017	3,300	62	83.0	16.0	2.0	67.0
Opinòmetre/Ara	16 Sep 2017	1,000	51.0	69.9	14.3	15.8	55.6
Celeste-Tel/eldiario.es	12–15 Sep 2017	800	59.9	59.5	30.7	9.8	28.8
Sociométrica/El Español	28 Aug–1 Sep 2017	700	50	72.0	28.0	–	44.0
Opinòmetre/Ara	17–20 Jul 2017	1,000	54.9	66.5	18.5	15.0	48.0
GESOP/CEO	26 Jun–11 Jul 2017	1,500	67.5	57.8	34.8	7.4	23.0
DYM/El Confidencial	22–28 Jun 2017	531	70.1	65.4	28.4	6.2	37.0
Opinòmetre/Ara	12–15 Jun 2017	1,000	54.9	67.0	19.0	14.0	48.0

On the independence issue

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Yes	No	Other/ Abst.	?	Lead	Question
Sociométrica/El Español	28 Aug–1 Sep 2017	700	50.1	45.7	–	4.2	4.4
GESOP/CEO	26 Jun–11 Jul 2017	1,500	41.1	49.4	–	9.5	8.3
GAD3/La Vanguardia	7–12 Apr 2017	601	41.9	39.7	9.1	9.3	2.2
GESOP/CEO	6–21 Mar 2017	1,500	44.3	48.5	–	7.2	4.2
GAD3/La Vanguardia	2–5 Jan 2017	601	42.3	41.9	5.9	9.9	0.4
NC Report/La Razón	16–23 Dec 2016	1,000	44.8	47.2	–	8.0	2.4
DYM/CEO	12–17 Dec 2016	1,047	45.3	46.8	–	7.8	1.5
GESOP/El Periódico	12–14 Dec 2016	800	48.9	40.3	2.4	8.5	8.6
Opinòmetre/CEO	17 Oct–3 Nov 2016	1,500	44.9	45.1	–	9.9	0.2
GESOP/ICPS	26 Sep–17 Oct 2016	1,200	46.6	33.8	15.0	4.7	10.2
NC Report/La Razón	2–6 Aug 2016	1,255	41.3	43.2	–	15.5	1.9
Opinòmetre/CEO	28 Jun–13 Jul 2016	1,500	47.7	42.4	–	10.0	5.3
GAD3/La Vanguardia	13–16 Jun 2016	800	48.4	35.3	7.7	8.6	13.1
Opinòmetre/CEO	22 Feb–8 Mar 2016	1,500	45.3	45.5	–	9.2	0.2
NC Report/La Razón	28–31 Dec 2015	1,255	44.1	49.7	–	6.2	5.6
DYM/El Confidencial	30 Nov–3 Dec 2015	504	37.0	54.0	–	9.0	17.0
Feedback/La Vanguardia	20–27 Nov 2015	1,000	45.5	48.7	–	5.2	3.2
GESOP/CEO	16–23 Nov 2015	1,050	46.6	48.2	–	5.2	1.6
Opinòmetre/CEO	5–27 Oct 2015	2,000	46.7	47.8	–	5.6	1.1
2015 Catalan regional election
Feedback/La Vanguardia	14–17 Sep 2015	1,000	45.2	45.9	–	8.9	0.7
Metroscopia/El País	14–16 Sep 2015	2,000	45.0	46.0	–	9.0	1.0
DYM/El Confidencial	14–16 Sep 2015	1,157	50.0	42.0	–	8.0	8.0
Sigma Dos/El Mundo	31 Aug–3 Sep 2015	1,400	44.4	46.2	–	9.4	1.8
Feedback/La Vanguardia	6–9 Jul 2015	1,000	44.5	48.4	–	7.1	3.9
Opinòmetre/CEO	2–24 Jun 2015	2,000	42.9	50.0	–	7.1	7.1
Feedback/La Vanguardia	27–29 Apr 2015	1,000	43.7	47.9	–	8.3	4.2
Opinòmetre/CEO	9 Feb–2 Mar 2015	2,000	44.1	48.0	–	7.8	3.9
DYM/CEO	9–13 Dec 2014	1,100	44.5	45.3	–	10.3	0.8
GESOP/ICPS	12 Nov–6 Dec 2014	1,200	49.9	27.4	18.8	4.1	22.5
Feedback/La Vanguardia	1–4 Dec 2014	1,000	47.4	42.9	–	9.7	4.5
Sigma Dos/El Mundo	17–20 Nov 2014	1,000	35.7	44.7	9.6	10.0	9.0
2014 Catalan self-determination referendum
GESOP/8tv	30 October 2014	1,600	46.2	38.0	–	15.8	8.2
Opinòmetre/CEO	29 Sep–23 Oct 2014	2,000	49.4	32.3	8.4	10.0	17.1
Sigma Dos/El Mundo	26–29 Aug 2014	?	34.0	39.5	–	19.2	5.5
Feedback/La Vanguardia	30 Apr–8 May 2014	577	43.4	43.5	–	13.4	0.1
Opinòmetre/CEO	24 Mar–15 Apr 2014	2,000	47.2	27.9	12.4	12.6	19.3
GESOP/El Periódico	26–28 Feb 2014	800	46.1	36.3	–	17.6	9.8
GESOP/El Periódico	12–13 Dec 2013	800	44.1	36.2	–	19.7	7.9
Feedback/La Vanguardia	16–19 Nov 2013	1,000	44.9	45.0	–	10.1	0.1
GESOP/CEO	4–14 Nov 2013	2,000	54.7	22.1	17.0	6.3	32.6
GESOP/El Periódico	16–18 Oct 2013	800	53.3	41.5	–	5.3	11.8
GESOP/ICPS	25 Sep–10 Oct 2013	800	48.6	25.2	21.9	4.3	23.4
GESOP/CEO	31 May–13 Jun 2013	2,000	55.6	23.4	15.9	5.1	32.2
GESOP/El Periódico	28–31 May 2013	800	57.8	36.0	–	6.3	21.8
GESOP/CEO	4–14 Feb 2013	2,000	54.7	20.7	18.1	6.4	34.0
GESOP/El Periódico	14–16 Jan 2013	800	56.9	35.0	–	8.2	21.9
GESOP/ICPS	27 Nov–20 Dec 2012	1,200	49.2	29.2	15.1	6.5	20.0
2012 Catalan regional election
Feedback/La Vanguardia	12–16 Nov 2012	1,000	47.5	40.2	–	10.1	7.3
Feedback/La Vanguardia	6–9 Nov 2012	1,000	47.9	39.9	–	10.2	8.0
DYM/CEO	22–30 Oct 2012	2,500	57.0	20.5	14.9	7.7	36.5
Feedback/La Vanguardia	22–26 Oct 2012	1,000	52.8	35.4	–	9.7	17.4
Feedback/La Vanguardia	8–11 Oct 2012	1,000	54.3	33.1	–	10.1	21.2
Feedback/La Vanguardia	21–27 Sep 2012	1,200	54.8	33.5	–	10.2	21.3
DYM/CEO	4–18 Jun 2012	2,500	51.1	21.1	22.1	5.8	30.0
DYM/CEO	6–21 Feb 2012	2,500	44.6	24.7	25.2	5.5	19.9
GESOP/ICPS	19 Sep–27 Oct 2011	2,000	43.7	25.1	23.2	8.0	18.6
GESOP/CEO	29 Sep–13 Oct 2011	2,500	45.4	24.7	24.4	5.6	20.7
GESOP/CEO	2–17 Jun 2011	2,500	42.9	28.2	23.8	5.2	14.7
Noxa/La Vanguardia	1–2 Sep 2010	800	40.0	45.0	10.0	5.0	5.0

On whether a referendum should be held

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Yes	No	?	Notes
Metroscopia/El País	18–21 Sep 2017	2,200	82	16	2	On a legal referendum as the best solution
GESOP/El Periódico	19–22 Feb 2017	?	71.9	26.1	2.0	On the State allowing a referendum
GAD3/La Vanguardia	13–16 Jun 2016	800	76.6	19.7	3.6
NC Report/La Razón	16–23 Dec 2016	1,000	51.1	40.7	8.2	On holding a 9N-style referendum
GESOP/El Periódico	12–14 Dec 2016	800	84.6	13.8	1.6
			49.6	48.8	1.6	On holding a not legal referendum
NC Report/La Razón	2–6 Aug 2016	1,255	52.0	35.1	12.9	On agreeing a referendum with the State
GAD3/La Vanguardia	13–16 Jun 2016	800	75.7	20.6	3.7
DYM/El Confidencial	30 Nov–3 Dec 2015	504	69.0	26.0	5.0	On the need of holding a referendum
Feedback/La Vanguardia	20–27 Nov 2015	1,000	78.8	19.9	1.3
Feedback/La Vanguardia	14–17 Sep 2015	1,000	79.2	18.6	2.2
Feedback/La Vanguardia	6–9 Jul 2015	1,000	79.8	19.4	0.8
Feedback/La Vanguardia	27–29 Apr 2015	1,000	79.1	19.4	1.5
Feedback/La Vanguardia	1–4 Dec 2014	1,000	83.9	14.5	1.6
NC Report/La Razón	13–15 Nov 2014	?	54.3	39.9	5.8	On holding an agreed referendum
Feedback/La Vanguardia	30 Apr–8 May 2014	577	74.0	24.6	1.4
GESOP/El Periódico	12–13 Dec 2013	800	73.6	20.0	6.4	On the State authorizing the 9N referendum
Feedback/La Vanguardia	16–19 Nov 2013	1,000	73.5	23.6	2.9
GESOP/El Periódico	28–31 May 2013	800	75.1	20.8	4.2	On the Government of Spain authorizing a referendum
			69.6	25.8	2.3	On holding a referendum
GESOP/El Periódico	14–16 Jan 2013	800	62.9	30.5	6.6	On holding a referendum even with the State's opposition
Feedback/La Vanguardia	12–16 Nov 2012	1,000	73.4	24.1	2.5
Feedback/La Vanguardia	6–9 Nov 2012	1,000	73.6	24.0	2.4
Feedback/La Vanguardia	22–26 Oct 2012	1,000	81.5	17.5	1.0
Feedback/La Vanguardia	8–11 Oct 2012	1,000	81.7	17.6	0.7
Feedback/La Vanguardia	21–27 Sep 2012	1,200	83.9	14.9	1.2

Conduct

A person voting in Guinardó, Barcelona

On the day of the poll, Spanish police and the Guardia Civil mounted operations to prevent people reaching voting stations, at times using batons and firing rubber bullets in attempts to keep voters away. They raided polling stations in Barcelona, Girona and elsewhere; they forced entry to the premises, ejected the occupants with force, and seized ballot boxes containing votes. According to the Catalan health service, 840 people were injured.

Results

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	2,020,144	91.96
No	176,565	8.04
Valid votes	2,196,709	97.10
Invalid or blank votes	65,715	2.90
Total votes	2,262,424	100.00
Registered voters and turnout	5,343,358	42.34
Source: Generalitat of Catalonia

The Catalan government estimated that up to 770,000 votes were seized by police in raids on polling stations, and therefore not counted. This would represent a little over 14% of the possible turnout, given the stated electorate size of 5,343,358 persons.

Reactions

Main article: Reactions to the Catalan independence referendum, 2017

Reactions came from a multitude of avenues.

See also

• Catalan independence
• Catalan Republic
• History of Catalonia
• Politics of Catalonia
• Catalan nationalism
• Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum, 2017

External links

• Catalan independence referendum, 2017 (English) (Catalan) (Occitan) (Spanish)
• Catalonia Votes (English) (German) (Spanish) (French)
• Opinion Studies Center (in Catalan, Spanish and English)
• Organizations urge the EU to suspend Spain’s right of vote if blocks referendum
• The Guardian view on Catalonia’s referendum: the Spanish state has lost