Catalan Separatist Vote Win Huge Before General Elections

Separatists have won a clear majority of seats in Catalonia’s parliament, an exit poll showed on Sunday, in an election that could set the region on a collision course with Spain’s central government over independence.

The main secessionist group “Junts pel Si” (Together for Yes) would get between 63 and 66 seats in the 135-strong assembly, while smaller leftist party CUP would secure another 11 to 13 seats, according to the poll released by local broadcaster TV3, the largest carried out.

They would jointly obtain 49.8 percent of the vote, amid an expected record turnout, in what would be a big boost to a secession campaign which has been losing support over the last two years.

“Junts pel Si” and CUP had said before the vote that such a result would allow them to unilaterally declare independence within 18 months, under a plan that would see the new Catalan authorities approving their own constitution and building institutions like an army, central bank and judicial system.

The Spanish centre-right government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, which has opposed attempts to hold a referendum on secession, has called the breakaway plan “a nonsense” and vowed to block it in court. Spain’s constitution does not allow any region to break away.

Catalan secession remains highly hypothetical, but the strong pro-independence showing is a blow for Rajoy less than three months before a countrywide election.

Via CNBC

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza