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After Scots reject independence, Catalan parliament in Spain set for key secession vote move

Associated Press
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A fan waves a Scottish national flag alongside others waving 'Estelada' flags, that symbolize Catalonia's independence during the Champions League Group F soccer match between Barcelona and Apoel at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) (The Associated Press)

David Aguilar who is visiting Scotland from Catalonia to support the Scottish independence referendum, wears a t-shirt printed with a design showing an "estelada" Catalan pro-independence flag, left, next to a Scottish Saltire flag as he speaks to passersby in Edinburgh, Scotland, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014. Polls have opened across Scotland in a referendum that will decide whether the country leaves its 307-year-old union with England and becomes an independent state. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) (The Associated Press)

David Aguilar, left, and Aleix Sarri from Catalonia, who are visiting Scotland to support the Scottish independence referendum, gesture and hold up a placard supporting a Yes vote at passing motorists in Edinburgh, Scotland, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014. Their t-shirts are printed with a design showing an "estelada" Catalan pro-independence flag, left, next to a Scottish Saltire flag. Polls have opened across Scotland in a referendum that will decide whether the country leaves its 307-year-old union with England and becomes an independent state. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) (The Associated Press)

A day after Scotland rejected breaking away from Britain, the regional parliament in Spain's Catalonia is expected to grant its leader the power to call a secession referendum that the central government in Madrid says would be illegal.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has vowed to prevent the Nov. 9 vote that separatist Catalans want to hold in the wealthy Mediterranean region of 7.5 million people.

Spain's constitution doesn't allow referendums that do not include all Spaniards and experts say Spain's Constitutional Court would rule the vote illegal.

The referendum in Catalonia wouldn't result in secession; it would ask Catalans whether they favor secession. If the answer is Yes, Catalan regional leader Artur Mas says that would give him a political mandate to negotiate a path toward independence.