Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

World

The Latest: Spanish PM urges against voting in referendum

Associated Press
Published | Updated
  • 0538b615-
    Image 1 of 2

  • 97c73f90-
    Image 2 of 2

MADRID – The Latest on the planned independence referendum in Catalonia (all times local):

2:40 p.m.

Spain's prime minister is urging the people of Catalonia to refrain from taking part in a planned referendum on the region's independence that he says is unconstitutional.

The pro-independence coalition governing Catalonia says the Oct. 1 ballot will go ahead despite a ruling by Spain's Constitutional Court suspending the vote until judges can rule on its legality.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is fighting to stop the ballot and he appealed to Catalans to ignore calls from independence supporters to turn out.

Rajoy said on Wednesday: "If anyone urges you to go to a polling station, don't go, because the referendum can't take place, it would be an absolutely illegal act."

___

1:50 p.m.

Spain's state prosecutor office says he is investigating more than 700 Catalan mayors for cooperating with a referendum on independence that has been suspended by a court, and has ordered police to arrest them if they don't comply.

The pro-independence coalition ruling Catalonia has vowed to hold the vote despite the prohibition and has asked the 947 mayors in the northeastern region to provide facilites for the plebiscite.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government has pledged to stop the referendum and was granted a suspension by the Constitutional Court while judges decide on its legality.

On Wednesday, the country's top prosecutor, Jose Manuel Maza, ordered provincial prosecutors to investigate 712 mayors who have already offered municipal facilities for the Oct. 1 vote and the regional Catalan police to arrest them if they don't show up for testimony.