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.”