Turnout rockets to 68.3% with two hours left to vote

At 6pm, voter turnout rocketed to 68.3%. This means 5 points more than in the past election, in September 2015, when the figure at this time was 63.1%. With still two hours left to vote, the poll turnout seems accurate, because most of them foresaw an increase in voters of up to around 80%. Anything higher than 77% of the in-person vote would be the all-time high for a Catalan election. In fact, Catalans flooded the polling stations across the country in the immediate hours after the vote started at 9am. Voters had to queue before casting their ballot in many sites.

Indeed, turnout is one of the elements set to make this election a historic one. The vote is taking part in unprecedented circumstances, with the Catalan government deposed by the Spanish authorities and some of its members in Brussels and others still in prison.

The election day is crucial, as citizens are asked to have their say after this autumn’s high tension, with episodes including the police violence on October 1, the declaration of independence and the enforcement of direct rule of Catalonia from Madrid. There are two clear blocs running in the vote, the pro-independence and the unionist ones. In between, Catalonia in Common is non-aligned.

Results might be quite clear at around 10pm

While at 8pm an exit poll is published by Grupo Godó media corporation, citizens will have to wait until around 10pm to have more precise knowledge about the final election results. So far, the results are difficult to call, because polls show uncertainty on whether pro-independence parties will keep the majority in the chamber.