Catalan president: ‘We have contingency plans to guarantee the referendum

The Catalan president says he is determined to hold the referendum. In a statement on Thursday evening, Carles Puigdemont said that his government has “contingency plans to guarantee” the independence vote. He did not reveal more details on the logistics, but some hours earlier he had announced a new official website where all citizens can check where they have to go in order to vote on October 1.

Puigdemont said that the referendum will take place not only due to the contingency plans, but because it has the support of “the immense majority of citizens, who are fed up with the arrogance and the abuses” of the Spanish government. He also claimed that his government feels “strong” and ready to face “the coming attacks”, despite the fact that “these are not easy days.”

What’s more, Puigdemont insisted that October 1 is not only a self-determination referendum: “It is no longer a matter of deciding the political relationship with Spain, but about if we want to live in a fully democratic regime which respects freedoms,” he added.

In the statement, Puigdemont also made reference to some of the actions taken by Madrid to stop the vote. “All the Spanish State machinery is aimed at preventing Catalans from voting on October 1,” said Puigdemont, who also accused Spain of being an “authoritarian state.”