The people of Catalonia are going to the polls in a closely watched regional election called by Spain following a controversial independence referendum.
The snap election pits parties who want Catalonia to be an independent republic against those who wish it to remain a semi-autonomous part of Spain.
All indications are that the result will be very close.
A BBC correspondent says there seems little prospect that the election will solve the region’s political crisis.
The Spanish daily El Pais said on its front page on Wednesday that one million undecided voters could have the last word.
The result of Thursday’s vote could determine Catalonia’s direction for years to come.
An aggregate of polls published earlier this week by El Pais suggests the pro-independence Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) will come top, slightly ahead of Ciudadanos (Cs), which wants unity with Spain.
The pro-independence JxCat party of ousted Catalan President Carles Puigdemont was predicted to come third. That would mean no parliamentary majority in favour of independence and possibly lengthy negotiations to form a government.
Separatists who dominated the Catalan parliament declared independence on 27 October following a controversial referendum at the beginning of the month described as illegal by Madrid.
In an attempt to stop the referendum on 1 October, Spanish police stormed polling stations ahead of the vote. However voters defied the Spanish courts and riot police to cast their ballots.
The move led to violent clashes with hundreds of people reported injured. Footage showing police tackling people at polling stations and pulling a woman by her hair caused outrage.
Source: BBC
