Catalonia to hold self-determination referendum on October 1, 2017

The Catalan government said the vote will be organized with "all guarantees" and the result will be implemented, whichever it is. "All options are equally legitimate and valid," Puigdemont said. "Democracy unites us all beyond our legitimate and healthy discrepancies," he added. The Catalan President urged all citizens to participate in the referendum, arguing that deciding about the future of the country is "an inalienable right".

"We have sought an agreement again and again," Puigdemont explained, describing the initiatives of his government over the last year and a half: "We have actively participated in the National Pact for the Referendum. We have presented proposals to agree on a negotiation. We have adopted parliamentary and government resolutions urging the Spanish executive to talk and negotiate. We have directly expressed to the Spanish government our firm determination to sit down at the table and negotiate a solution. We have explained this around the world, in London, Brussels, Paris, Boston, Washington, New York, and Madrid."

"But we are at the end of our legislative term and we haven't had a single positive answer," he said, arguing that Madrid's refusal to negotiate a vote on independence justifies organizing it under the authority of the Catalan Parliament. "Fulfilling our democratic commitment, today we have collectively ratified, with the Vice President and all our ministers, our willingness to call the citizens of our country, in the exercise of their legitimate right to self-determination, to a referendum that will be held on Sunday, October 1," Puigdemont announced.