I’ve taken part in many public votes. But the Catalan referendum stands out as special
4 min read
The Spanish government has dismissed last week’s independence referendum in Catalonia as an illegal ‘mockery’ of democracy. But former SNP MP George Kerevan – who travelled to Barcelona to witness the vote as an official observer – found a region determined to make its voice heard through the ballot box
Leave aside for the moment the legalities or illegalities of the October 1 independence referendum in Catalonia. Leave aside the pros and cons of Catalonia separating from Spain. Even ignore – though it’s hard – the irresponsible and disproportionate use of force by the paramilitary Guardia Civil when trying (and largely failing) to close the polling stations. Instead, consider this referendum as an extraordinarily and unprecedented civic movement in which over two million Catalans decided to organise a peaceful vote on their own future.
Even if you consider the referendum an act of gross civil disobedience, this was an extraordinary logistical and organisational feat that says everything about the Catalan community’s self-discipline and dedication to democratic norms. In similar factious circumstances, other countries all too often have had violent upheavals – or at least spasms of civil unrest degenerating into terrorism. We experienced a similar fate in the UK in recent times, in Northern Ireland. Spain itself lived through a bloody phase of Basque nationalism.
Instead – as I saw at first hand as an official observer – ordinary Catalans insisted in making their point through the ballot box, which is to be admired. And talking of ballot boxes, just how do you acquire and distribute thousands of actual ballot boxes when the Spanish authorities have deemed this an illegal and seditious act, and set out to confiscate them even before voting day?
When I arrived at 7am on referendum day, in the Barcelona school polling station I’d been assigned to monitor, the count officials proudly displayed their squeaky-clean plastic ballot boxes. Overnight, thousands of volunteers had driven these boxes (made in China) from their place of sanctuary across the French border to 2,315 separate polling stations across Catalonia. And not a word had leak out to the media or the Spanish authorities. But count officials were even more proud of the ingenious stacking mechanism that let multiple ballot boxes sit inside each other, the better to hide their number when in secret transit.
It being a Continental Sunday, the polls opened at leisurely 9am. Count officials were incredulous that voting in Scotland commenced at 7am on a weekday. However, on this referendum Sunday, the normally balmy Mediterranean weather had turned foul. There was a continuous and torrential downpour that turned Barcelona’s wobbly, irregular pavements into cascading rivers. Yet there was a queue of close to 500 people waiting in the rain, when I arrived some two hours before voting commenced. That’s democratic participation, in anyone’s book.
I have taken part in elections (and referendums) galore, but this one stands out as special. The atmosphere was more festive than sombre, despite attempts by the paramilitary Guardia Civil to use force to close polling stations.
I saw elderly Catalans, who remember the Franco era, with tears in their eyes as they cast their ballots. A seemingly endless stream of young children were photographed dropping their parent’s envelopes into the box (here every ballot paper is sealed individually into an envelope for extra privacy).
How secure was the vote and how reliable the count? I’ve no hesitation in concluding – having randomly monitored five separate polling stations in the course of the day – that voting was scrupulously organised and its recording correct.
In some instances, where local polling stations were forcibly closed by the Spanish police, voters were allowed to cast their ballots elsewhere. Conceivably, this could have allowed multiple voting – a criticism advanced by the Spanish government to cast doubt on the results. But given the lengthy queues to vote, and the fact it took individuals hours to reach the ballot box, I conclude that any multiple voting (if it took place) would have been entirely marginal to the outcome.
Finally, how are we to interpret the result politically? The pro-independence vote on October 1 was 2,020,144. That compares with 1,897,144 Yes votes in the earlier consultative referendum of November 2014, and a combined vote for pro-independence parties in the 2015 Catalan parliament elections of 1,966,508.
In other words, more people recorded support for creating an independent Catalan republic on October 1 than ever before. If votes count, that speaks volumes.
George Kerevan was SNP MP for East Lothian from 2015 to 2017
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