CATALONIA has “won sovereignty” and will declare independence from Spain imminently after a referendum marred by violence yesterday.
In a statement last night, the region’s president said Catalans had won theright to form a sovereign state in the landslide vote.
This comes after violent clashes between police and protestors left 850 injured during the referendum, which has been declared illegal by Madrid.
In a statement posted by Spain Report late last night, First Minister Carles Puigdemont said: “The Catalan government will transmit to the Catalan Parliament, the seat and expression of the sovereignty of our people, the results of the referendum, so that it can act according to that laid out in the referendum law.
"Catalonia has won sovereignty and respect and its institutions have the duty to implement that result.”
Mr Puigdemont said Spain has "written a shameful new page in its history with Catalonia" and attacks by police on voters amounted to an abuse of human rights.
Appealing to European leaders, he said the issue was "no longer an internal Spanish matter".
Catalan officials say 90 per cent of the 2.26 million votes cast were in favour of independence.
But Mr Puigdemont did not announce any official results in his statement.