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Catalans Vow to Hand Over to Madrid Boxes Full of Pro-Vote Demands

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The Catalan government vowed on Tuesday to send four boxes full of pro-vote demands from some 900 municipalities across the independence-minded Spanish region of Catalonia to the central government and the top court, the regional government's spokesman Francesc Homs said.

MOSCOW, October 7 (RIA Novosti) - The Catalan government vowed on Tuesday to send four boxes full of pro-vote demands from some 900 municipalities across the independence-minded Spanish region of Catalonia to the central government and the top court, the regional government's spokesman Francesc Homs said.

As many as 920 out of 947 municipalities in this northeastern region submitted their requests. Homs said the sheer volume of demands would be enough for the government in Madrid and the Spanish Constitutional Court to see "with their own eyes" that Catalonia's desire to vote in the independence referendum should be taken seriously.

"The poll is a reality and it will be held on November 9, and the people will vote," the Catalan spokesman asserted as he commented on the date of the upcoming referendum.

On Tuesday, Homs said that Catalan authorities had decided to go ahead with the vote in spite of the "obstacles that the government is putting in our way."

This came after the separatist government of Catalan president Artur Mas on Tuesday published an official decree appointing the seven regional electing commissions that would monitor the vote.

Meanwhile, El Pais newspaper cited its recent poll results as saying that 45 percent of Catalans objected to the vote taking place without the Constitutional Court's backing. The survey took place from September 30 to October 2.

On September 27, Catalan President Artur Mas signed a decree scheduling Catalonia's independence referendum for November 9. The same day the Spanish government announced that it would block the motion by appealing to the Constitutional Court, and on September 29, the court suspended the referendum while it deliberated on its legality.

The Catalan regional government said they would appeal the decision. The Catalan president has already set up a panel to supervise the referendum, despite the Constitutional Court's ruling.

Catalans have accused the Spanish government of being a drain on the region's budget and constraining its linguistic and cultural autonomy. Madrid claims Catalonia benefits from the union with Spain and already enjoys a wide autonomy.

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