(10 Nov 2014) People on the streets of the Spanish capital Madrid on Monday expressed their disappointment at the results of a mock independence poll held on Sunday in the country's northeastern region of Catalonia.
Over a million people in the region voted in favour of breaking away from the country and carving out a new Mediterranean nation in Sunday's referendum, dubbed N-9 in the Spanish press after the date, 9 November.
Results released early on Monday, with 88 percent of votes, counted showed that over two million people voted, of which 1.6 million supported the formation of a new nation.
With 5.4 million eligible to take part in the ballot, many did not bother to participate because of concerns about the vote's lack of legal guarantees and its non-binding status.
Some Madrid residents described the poll as "illegal" and "undemocratic", while another said it was "without much meaning".
Catalan lawmakers had opted for a watered-down poll after plans to hold an official referendum on independence were suspended by Spain's Constitutional Court, in response to the central government's challenge that the referendum was unconstitutional.
The court then suspended the mock vote on the same grounds on Tuesday, but the regional government defied the suspension, manning polling stations with 40-thousand volunteers.
Polls in recent years say the majority of Catalonia's 7.5 million inhabitants want an official vote on independence, while around half support cutting centuries-old ties with Spain.
President of the Catalan regional government, Artur Mas, has said Sunday's vote was merely symbolic, but it is thought likely to lead to regional elections that would stand in for a referendum on independence, unless the Spanish government relents.
Spanish state prosecutors are meanwhile continuing an investigation to determine whether, by holding the informal vote, the Catalan government had broken the law.
The region's secessionist camp has grown during Spain's economic downturn, with the Spanish government's repeated denials to grant Catalonia control over its financial future.
An independent Catalonia would be separated from the European Union and forced to reapply for membership.
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