Spanish government files appeals to halt Catalan independence referendum

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the 9 November referendum called by Catalan regional leader Artur Mas represented "a grave attack on the rights of all Spaniards,"

Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy
Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy

Spain's government has filed appeals before the country's top court to try to halt the powerful northeastern region of Catalonia from staging an independence referendum, the prime minister said Monday.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the 9 November referendum called by Catalan regional leader Artur Mas represented "a grave attack on the rights of all Spaniards," who under the 1979 Spanish Constitution, were the only ones who could vote on issues of sovereignty.

He stressed that the Constitution "was based on the indissoluble unity of the Spanish state" and that while the charter could be amended in the future, right now the government's priority was to defend it. He spoke after a special Cabinet meeting called to discuss the crisis.

If the Constitutional Court takes on the appeals, as is widely expected to happen this week, both the law and the referendum will automatically be suspended while the court deliberates, a process that could take months or years.

Polls indicate most Catalans are in favour of holding the referendum but are roughly evenly split on the issue of independence.

Unhappy at Spain's refusal to give it more powers, Catalonia has vowed for months to hold the referendum. The move is the latest secession push in Europe following Scotland's recent vote to remain in Britain.