Spain’s Constitutional Court on Monday suspended an independence referendum called by Catalonia for Nov. 9, although leaders of the rich northeastern region vowed to press ahead anyway with preparations for the vote.
The unanimous and expected decision by the court’s 12 judges came just hours after Spain’s central government asked it to declare the independence referendum illegal on the grounds that it breaches the nation’s constitution.
The court said in a statement that it had accepted the appeal and had suspended the referendum while it considers the central government’s arguments. The court had up to five months to give its ruling, although it can request an extension.
The head of the regional government of Catalonia, Artur Mas, signed a decree on Saturday calling for the referendum. Since then a luminous clock on Barcelona’s historic Sant Jaume Square has been ticking down the seconds to Nov. 9, while television and radio stations in the region have aired ads informing the public of the vote.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he “deeply” regretted Mas’ move, saying it “divides Catalans, alienates them from Europe and the rest of Spain, and seriously harms their welfare.”
In a televised address to the nation following an emergency Cabinet meeting, Rajoy said the right to decide a region’s status belonged to “all the Spanish people” under the country’s 1978 constitution — the keystone of Spain’s democracy after the death of the former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco.
“There is nothing and no one, no power nor institution, that can break this principle of sole sovereignty,” Rajoy said.
Buoyed by mass street demonstrations, Mas has pushed ahead for a vote in defiance of Rajoy’s warnings.
“You cannot use the law to prevent people indefinitely from stating their opinion,” Mas said in a television interview on Sunday in anticipation of Monday’s appeal. “Voting on November is the best thing for everyone because it will allow us and also the Spanish government to know what the Catalan people’s opinion is.”
Speaking to reporters on Monday in Barcelona, Mas criticized the “supersonic speed” of the Constitutional Court, which met just hours after the central government launched its appeal.
“They broke the speed of sound, they did not even wait one day,” Mas said.
Supporters of independence have vowed to continue preparing for the vote, setting up a tense standoff over the coming weeks.
“We are committed to voting on Nov. 9,” said Oriol Junqueras, leader of the left-wing Catalan nationalist party ERC, which is allied with Mas’ conservative CiU grouping in the regional parliament. “We are aware of the great difficulties we will face in the coming days, but we are ready to face those difficulties.”
Fired up by Scotland’s independence referendum last month, vast crowds turned out in Barcelona on Sept. 11 to demand their own vote. Scottish voters eventually chose not to be independent from the UK, but like Scotland, Catalonia “wants to be heard and it wants to vote,” Mas said.
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