RT
October 2, 2017
Spanish authorities prevented people from voting in a very hostile manner, but not only people who want independence, but also those who wanted to vote ‘No’: that is undemocratic, said Alfred Bosch, the Republican Left leader on Barcelona City Council.
Two million Catalans, or 90.09 percent of those who voted, said ‘Yes’ in the banned referendum on independence from Madrid on Sunday, according to the Catalonia regional authorities.
📊 Resultats del Referèndum de #1OCT pic.twitter.com/2jGFL1xLz1
— Govern. Generalitat (@govern) October 1, 2017
The Catalonian government said the result reflects only the ballots that “were not seized” during police raids on polling stations throughout the day. Police also used brutal violence and fired rubber bullets at voters with some 900 people injured, according to the region’s health ministry.
After the independence referendum vote count began in Catalonia, RT spoke to Alfred Bosch, the Republican Left leader on Barcelona City Council.
RT: Why do you think the Spanish authorities have taken such a tough stance on the Catalan referendum?
Alfred Bosch: My guess is that [the authorities] are not democratic enough, because if you accept fundamental rights and freedom in general and you accept that people have the right to decide their own future voting in the polls, they would have had no problem with this referendum. The fact is that they have prevented – in a very hostile manner – people from voting. They have prevented people from voting who want independence; however, they also prevented those who wanted to vote ‘No’ to independence and were against independence like themselves. That is very undemocratic. We think that people here have been very dignified and there is not enough police in this country to stop the people who are so civilized, democratic and dignified.
The Spanish prime-minister is in…