(9 Nov 2014) Artur Mas, president of the regional government of Catalonia, cast his vote on Sunday in an informal referendum on the region's independence from Spain, a poll which the central government has called illegal.
The regional Catalan government has pushed forward with the vote despite Spain's Constitutional Court on Tuesday ordering its suspension.
Polls show that the majority of Catalonia's 7.5 (m) million inhabitants plan to vote, while around half support independence.
Speaking after casting his vote in a polling station in the regional capital Barcelona, Mas said he was "very happy" to see Catalans' reaction to the referendum.
Meanwhile in the Spanish capital Madrid, residents were critical of the referendum. One said the vote would not change anything despite the large number of people expected to vote.
The referendum has also dominated the Spanish press.
El Pais called it "useless."
Other newspapers headlined with news that Spanish state prosecutors announced late on Saturday that they were opening an investigation to determine if the Catalan government had broken the law by holding the informal vote in defiance of the court's suspension.
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