Barcelona — Catalan separatists won a crucial snap poll Thursday, plunging their region into further uncertainty after a failed independence bid rattled Europe and triggered Spain’s worst political crisis in decades. With turnout at a record high and 99.9% of the ballots counted, the election handed a mandate back to the region’s ousted separatist leaders, even after they campaigned from exile and behind bars. In a clear indicator of the huge gulf over independence afflicting Catalan society, antisecessionist centrist party Ciudadanos had the biggest individual result with 37 of the 135 seats in the regional parliament. "It’s a strange feeling. We won the majority of seats, but we lost in votes," 26-year-old doctor and separatist supporter Fran Robles told AFP after the results were announced. "It’s a good reflection of the reality that Catalonia is politically divided," he added. But unless the three pro-independence lists fail to clinch a deal to work together in the coming months...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.