Catalan declaration of independence
On 27 October 2017, a resolution based on the "Declaration of the representatives of Catalonia" declaring the independence of Catalonia was voted in the Parliament and was approved with 70 votes in favor, 10 against, and 2 blank votes. Fifty-three MPs from the opposition refused to be present during the voting after the legal services of the Catalan Parliament advised that the voting could not take place, as the law on which it was based had been suspended by the Spanish Constitutional Court. The two pro-independence parties, JxSí and CUP, had 72 seats, and the vote in favour of independence obtained 70.
Catalan declaration of independence
After saying that he considered the referendum valid and binding, Puigdemont chose to use the wording "I assume the mandate of the people for Catalonia to become an independent state in the shape of a republic", before adding that he would "ask Parliament to suspend the effects of the declaration of independence so that in the coming weeks we can undertake a dialogue".
The speech left observers bewildered as they struggled to understand whether Puigdemont had just declared independence. While some commentators stated that independence had just been declared and put on hold, others stated that the declaration of independence had been postponed.