Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Friday announced that he dissolved the Catalan Parliament and called for regional elections on December 21.
He made the announcement at a press conference after the Catalan government unilaterally declared independence from Spain.
"These urgent measures that we have approved after the Senate supported the decisions that we made last Saturday are as follows: cessation of the regional prime minister of Catalonia, and cessation of the deputy prime minister of Catalonia and other counselors of the regional government. We will reappoint new administrative bodies which are responsible for complying with the measures approved by the Senate, and corresponding to each Spanish ministry," Rajoy said.
The Spanish Senate granted Rajoy unprecedented powers to impose direct rule on Catalonia under the Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution.
"We believe it is urgent to listen to Catalan citizens, to all of them, so that they can decide their future and nobody can act outside the law on their behalf," the prime minister said.
"The public opinions, the truth, and the people who can establish orders, will lay the foundations for the resumption of coexistence among Catalans. Catalonia needs to confess to the truth, to the law, and to itself," Rajoy said, adding that the government does not want to put off the task for even one more minute.
He called for holding free, clean and legal elections at an early date to restore democracy.
In Barcelona, protesters against independence of Catalonia took to the streets at around 18:00, leading to some confrontations with regional police officers.
On the other hand, some 6,000 people celebrated the so-called independence of Catalonia in the city, wielding Catalan regional flags to express the joy of independence.
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