Catalan’s parliament passed legislation approving the October 1st independence referendum on Wednesday night amidst heavy opposition from Spanish government aligned MPs.
The legislation passed by 72 votes despite 52 opposition MPs staging a walk out of the Catalan parliament, reports abc news.
The passing of the legislation was denounced by the Spanish government, which has pledged to take legal action against the parliament to stop the independence referendum.
Calling the passing of the legislation illegal, Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, said,
“That something the government and courts can’t allow. There won’t be a self-determination referendum because that would be talking away from other Spaniards the right to decide their future.”
In March this year, the former Catalan president Artur Mas was banned from politic for two years after being found guilty of disobeying the Spanish constitutional court by holding a symbolic independence referendum in 2014.
Catalan’s current president Calres Puigdemont has vowed to declare independence from Spain 48 hours of the vote if the referendum is successful.
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