Spanish election underway: 5,703,737 Catalans called to vote

5.703.737 Catalans are called to cast their ballot at today's Spanish election across the four provinces in Catalonia. 

Polls open at 9 am, and residents are to decide on the future of the 48 Catalan Congress representatives, or MPs, until 8 pm when the voting stations will close and the first exit polls will be published. 

From that moment, ballots will be counted, with results announced by 11 pm, or midnight. Results for the Canary Islands may take longer because of the one-hour difference between the peninsula and the islands. 

2.668 schools across Catalonia are open for voters to come in during the day. Although a quarter of a million voters have already cast their ballots by mail, as this summer vote is coinciding with a lot of citizens' vacations. 

In Spain, voters elect 350 MPs to Congress, which then chooses the PM from a candidate proposed by one of the political parties. Voters are also casting their ballots for 208 senators. 

As Catalonia has been facing high temperatures and heat waves, Barcelona's town hall has supplied the 285 voting stations spread throughout the city with 18,000 water bottles. Air conditioning or fans will also be available in voting centers.