Voters waiting outside polling stations in Catalonia for independence referendum
People started arriving at 5am to make sure voting stations were not sealed off by police
People are already gathering in front of polling stations across Catalonia to vote on today's independence referendum. Citizens started to arrive at 5am, while some stayed overnight at schools and other buildings that will be used as polling stations to make sure that they were not sealed off by police.
The Spanish High Court in Catalonia ordered Catalan police, the Mossos, to prevent polling stations from opening this Sunday. Catalan officers have visited some polling stations this morning but so far they have not forced people to leave. In most cases, they have just written a report and left. Yesterday, in an unprecedented move, the Spanish Home Affairs Ministry tweeted that Catalan officers should make sure no voting takes place in Catalonia.
According to figures provided by the Catalan government, some 5.3 million citizens are called to vote at more than 6,000 polling places distributed among 2,315 polling stations throughout the country. Over 7,200 people will supervise the election. Polling stations will open from 9am to 8pm.