Over half of Catalonia's residents oppose independence — poll

The number of opponents of Catalonia's secession from Spain exceeds the number of supporters of the region's independence, TASS reports citing the data of a poll conducted by the Institute of Political and Social Sciences.

According to it, 39.5 per cent of respondents were in favour of separation from Spain. Meanwhile, 52.5 per cent of residents of the autonomous community preferred Catalonia to remain part of the kingdom, the EFE news agency reports.

About 1,000 people participated in the survey. It was conducted from October 31 to November 20 last year.

On October 1, 2017, Catalonia held a vote to secede from the kingdom. Madrid initially called this referendum illegitimate and refused to recognize its results. On October 27 of the same year, the Catalan parliament approved a resolution to declare an independent republic. In response, the authorities invoked Article 155 of the constitution, which allowed them to limit the self-government of the region. This article had never been invoked before.