MADRID (Sputnik) – The "Together for Yes" coalition of pro-independence parties previously pledged to set processes in motion for the autonomous region of Catalonia to separate from Spain, should it win the vote.
"I just signed a call, which follows the legal framework like in the past, but we all know that those elections will be very different," Mas said after signing the decree.
Catalans have long accused the Spanish government of constraining the region’s economic and cultural autonomy.
In November 2014, over 80 percent of Catalan voters supported the idea of declaring independence from Spain in a non-biding vote. Some two-thirds of Catalonian voters did not participate.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has repeatedly said that Catalan secession was illegal.
