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Saturday, September 30, 2017

Police seal off polls to stop Catalan referendum

Spanish police block polls to try to prevent Catalan independence referendum - World - CBC News - Thomson Reuters:

September 30, 2017 - "Spanish police sealed off schools earmarked as polling stations and occupied the Catalan government's communications hub on Saturday in an effort to prevent a banned independence referendum.

"Supporters of the poll spent the night in schools with their children and say they plan to remain there until Sunday to keep them open for voters, although a Spanish government source said more than half had been closed off....

"Tens of thousands of Catalans are expected to attempt to vote in a ballot that will have no legal status as it has been blocked by Spain's Constitutional Court and Madrid for being at odds with the 1978 constitution.

"Catalonia is a wealthy region within Spain that includes Barcelona, with its own language, which is taught in schools and universally spoken. Should the vote take place, a 'yes' result is likely, given that most of the 40 per cent of Catalans who polls show support independence are expected to cast ballots while most of those against it are not.

"Parents in some of the occupied schools said police officers had told them they could stay as long as they were not doing anything connected with the referendum.... 'The police have been four times,' said Laia, a 41-year-old sociologist at a school in central Barcelona.... ''They read us out the part of the court order that says no activities related to the preparation of the banned referendum are allowed.'

"A Spanish government source said police, who have been mobilized in their thousands to the region in the northeast of Spain to enforce a court order banning the referendum, would remove people from polling stations on Sunday.

"The Catalan government said police had occupied its communications hub and would remain there for two days after Catalonia's High Court ordered police to prevent electronic voting and instructed Google to delete an application it said was being used to spread information on the vote.

"Despite central government and court efforts to prevent the referendum, Catalan Leader Carles Puigdemont told Reuters on Friday it would go ahead, with no last minute compromise."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/catalan-referendum-polls-blocked-1.4315044
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