Spanish government pressures Catalan police to remove people from polling stations

The Spanish government has doubled down on its pressure of Catalan police, the Mossos, demanding officers remove people from schools and other buildings that are to serve as polling stations in Sunday’s referendum on independence. Hundreds of citizens have occupied would-be polling places for the past few days, organizing all kinds of activities (such as school festivals and board games tournaments) to prevent them being sealed off by police, as ordered by the Spanish High Court in Catalonia.

In a series of tweets from the Spanish Home Affairs Ministry, the Catalan police was asked to follow the judge's orders, to respect the Spanish Constitution and to remain “politically neutral.”

Yet, it remains to be seen how far the Catalan police will go to impede people from voting. Sources in the force have repeatedly stated that they will follow the principles of “opportunity, proportionality and congruence,” thus implying that officers will allow the vote in some situations.

Sunday at 6am

According to citizens occupying would-be polling stations, police officers visited them regularly during the weekend, informing them that they were allowed to stay until Sunday 6am. At that time, they would have to follow the instructions from the court and clear the space to prevent the vote from taking place.

Old people and children

Yet the police also gave them leaflets foreseeing certain situations in which they would not intervene: for instance, if old people and children were found inside the polling station.

However, the Spanish Home Affairs Ministry accused the Catalan government and pro-independence parties of being “irresponsible” and “using under-age and old people with the sole aim of preventing an operation from law enforcement agencies.”

The pro-referendum organization Open Schools has called people “of all ages” to either stay overnight in would-be polling stations or arrive at 5am to “peacefully defend them” and ensure they are not sealed off.

2,315 polling stations

The Spanish government delegation in Catalonia announced today that 1,300 polling stations out of 2,315 have been sealed off by the Catalan police. However, sources from the Mossos deny having closed any building yet.

Call center closed down

The Spanish Guardia Civil police claimed they had closed down a call center for the independence referendum. The police corps shared a series of pictures via their Twitter account of an empty room that supposedly was to be used for technical support during Sunday's vote.