Испания: Футболната звезда Жерар Пике даде своя вот в Каталунските избори

Spanish international footballer Gerard Pique, who plays for Barcelona FC in La Liga, cast his vote in Catalonia's regional elections at a polling station in Barcelona, on Sunday. The elections have been dominated by calls from Catalan separatists to secede from the Spanish state should pro-independence parties gain a majority in the regional parliament. The ruling Convergencia Democratica de Catalunya (CDC) party and Esquerra Republicana have gone to the polls with a single list of candidates under the name 'Junts pel Si' (Together for Yes). The coalition plans to pursue the independence of the secessionist region from Spain if they achieve an absolute majority either alone or with the support of small parties. In order to gain a majority at least 68 out of the 135 seats in the Catalan Parliament must be won. More than 5.5 million people are called to vote in 2,697 polling stations around the region. Participation is expected to be higher than that registered during the unofficial independence referendum held on November 9, 2014. After the 2014 unofficial referendum on Catalan independence ended in a resounding win in favour of seceding from the Spanish state, strident refusals from Madrid to accept proposals for separation followed. If the pro-independence parties gain a majority in the regional elections, campaigners have called for a declaration of independence directly after the results have been announced.