MADRID, October 3 (RIA Novosti) – Catalonia's President Artur Mas and representatives of the four parliamentary groups supporting the independence referendum decided on Friday to hold the ballot on November 9 despite the decision of the Spanish Constitutional Court, El Pais newspaper reported.
The parties comprising Convergence and Union (CiU), the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), the Initiative for Catalonia Greens (ICV) and the Popular Unity Candidates (CUP) decided to “hold the November 9 referendum so that citizens could exercise their right to vote,” the spokesperson of the Government of Catalonia Francesc Homs Molist said as quoted by the news outlet.
Earlier on Friday, Mas’ decree, which paves the way for setting up a seven-strong supervisory body to oversee the referendum, was published. The Spanish government said that it would appeal the decree as it runs counter to Monday's court order to suspend the ballot.
On September 27, Catalan President Artur Mas signed a decree scheduling Catalonia's independence referendum for November 9. The same day the Spanish government announced that it would block the motion by appealing to the Constitutional Court.
Catalans have accused the Spanish government of being a drain on the region's budget and constraining its linguistic and cultural autonomy. The government in Madrid claims Catalonia benefits from the union with Spain and already enjoys a wide autonomy.
