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Catalan elections 2015: As they happened

Pro-independence parties Junts pel Sí and CUP win majority of seats in parliament But they have fallen short of securing more than 50% of votes across the region

Artur Mas addresses crowds on Sunday night.
Artur Mas addresses crowds on Sunday night.reuters (Sergio Pérez )

Catalonia celebrated unprecedented regional elections on Sunday. With more than 97% of the vote counted, the pro-independence parties have emerged with an absolute majority of seats in the regional parliament. Junts pel Sí took 62 seats, while CUP took 10, giving them a total of 72 seats – for an absolute majority the parties needed 68. The pro-secession parties did not, however, win 50% of the total vote.

While the central government and anti-independence parties have rejected the positioning of the polls as a plebiscite, the polls will serve to measure the support for the independence movement led by current regional premier Artur Mas.

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With over 97% of votes counted, the secessionist Junts pel Sí has 62 seats; anti-independence Ciutadans has 25; the Socialists, 16; Podemos-backed leftist bloc Catalunya Sí que es Pot, 11; the nationally ruling Popular Party, 11; and the pro-independence leftist CUP, 10
Number two candidate for the pro-independence CUP, Anna Gabriel, says "the independence project continues forward" and warns that premier Artur "Mas is not indispensable." The party, which opted not to join Mas's Junts Pel Sí bloc, has seen its number of seats rise from 3 to 10.
Ciutadans' top candidate Inés Arrimadas: "Today it is confirmed that the majority of us Catalans have turned our backs on [regional premier Artur Mas]."
With 96.26% of votes counted, the independent parties - Junts pel Sí and the CUP - surpass an absolute majority with 72 seats in the regional parliament, but remain two points short of 50% of the vote. The anti-independence Ciutadans is the second force, with 25 deputies.
Catalan Popular Party top candidate Xavier García-Albiol speaks without making any criticism of his own campaign. He believes that, together, the pro-independence Junts pel Sí and CUP will not gain 50% of the vote, reports Ivanna Vallespín.
Catalunya Sí que es Pot leader Lluís Rabell admits his leftist bloc "has not reached its objective," blaming the "polarization" of the election between the yes and no to independence campaigns. In his judgement that made it difficult for its social problem-centered campaign.
"They have won on seats but not on votes, and as such, they have lost the plebiscite." Leader of the Socialist Party (PSOE), Pedro Sánchez, reacts to the election results, expressing his dismay over a "fractured Catalonia"
With 92% of votes counted, the secessionists are winning on seats, but not on votes
With 86.5% of the vote counted, the Junts pel Sí secessionist bloc continues to lead with 62 seats, while the Podemos-backed CSQP gains one more to reach 11. Lluís Rabell's party thus loses two of the 13 deputies that the ICV-EUiA leftists now have in the regional government
Premier Mas: "We will not let up. We have won with everything against us, and that gives us an enormous strength and a great legitimacy to take this project forward." "We will administer the victory with cohesion within Catalonia and in harmony with Spain, Europe and the world"
Catalan regional premier Artur Mas speaks: "Today we have a double victory. The yes vote has won and what"s more democracy has won," he tells supporters of his Junts Pel Sí pro-independence bloc.
Oriol Junqueras, Catalan Republican Left leader and number four on the list of candidates for the Junts Pel Sí secessionist coalition: "There is a more than sufficient majority to take this project forward."
Candidates running with pro-independence Junts pel Sí group claim victory, despite just under a quarter of votes left to be counted
The Popular Party's 11 seats is a bad but predictable result, while the Catalan Socialists' 17 seats represents a good showing for PSC leader Miquel Iceta and the party's national chief Pedro Sánchez, tweets Javier Casqueiro
With the result still to be confirmed, the nationally ruling Popular Party's 11 seats would be its second-worse-ever showing at a Catalan election after the 7 seats it won in 1992, reports Fernando J. Pérez
"We have managed to hold the plebiscite that they didn't let us hold," said campaign coordinator for the Junts pel Sí pro-independence bloc, Oriol Soler. "We have shown we are a country that believes in democracy and the ballot box," said fellow coordinator Lluís Salvadó.
Results from the exit poll by Catalan regional TV station TV3: Junts pel Sí (63-66 seats); Ciutadans (19-21); PSC (14-16); CSQP (12-14), CUP (11-13); PP (9-11), Unió (0-3).
The candidates are now all in the headquarters where they will watch the election night results come in. Less than 10 minutes remain before the polling stations close and the first exit polls are published.
Candidate for the Podemos-backed Catalunya Sí que es Pot coalition, Lluís Rabell, arrives at the Fabra i Coats factory, where he will watch the election results come in
Anaïs Garcia is completely blind, and today voted with the help of a braille kit.

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