BARCELONA, November 10 (RIA Novosti) — Catalan President Artur Mas stated Sunday he wants to reach an agreement with the central government to hold a "real and legal" referendum on independence.
Answering the reporters' questions at a news conference on his future steps, Mas stated that he would like to reach an agreement with the Spanish government on the legal referendum and "take to plebiscitary elections" if the central authorities "do not want to sit at the negotiating table".
Mas also noted that the Catalan parties still have to reach agreement on holding such elections and on the future steps.
Plebiscitary elections imply that the parties would mainly focus on the independence issues in their programs. If independence advocates manage to gain the majority, the independence issue will be put on the agenda of the autonomy's parliament.
Mas also severely criticized the position of the central Spanish authorities as unacceptable for a democratic country.
"I wish the first reaction of the Spanish authorities had been different… We deserve a legal referendum to define our future," he claimed.
Almost 2 million people in the wealthy breakaway region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain voted on Sunday in the unofficial independence poll, according to the Catalan government.
Results of the vote are expected to come on Monday morning.
Spanish government sees the voting as illegal and tried to block it by filing complaints to the Constitutional Court. However, Catalan President Artur Mas stated that Catalonia would carry out the consultation despite the central government's protests.
Earlier on Sunday the central government dismissed the vote as "useless" and unconstitutional.
