Three parties supporting the independence of the region, following the counting of 99% of the ballots, won a special parliamentary election in Catalonia. This was reported by representatives of the local government on Friday morning, December 22. Totally party-supporters of independence of the region will receive 70 out of 135 seats in the new parliament.

According to preliminary official results, the largest party was the Liberal Party "Citizens - Civil Party" (Ciudadanos), which is in favor of European integration. Its representatives will receive 37 seats in the parliament (12 more than in 2015). However, they will not be able to form a coalition majority.

The second and third places were occupied by the separatist parties: the coalition "Together for Catalonia" (JxCat), headed by the ex-head of the Catalan Government Carlos Puchedemon (34 seats) and the "Left Republicans of Catalonia" (ERC, 32 seats in the parliament). Another four mandates will receive the party "National Unity Candidate" (CUP), which also stands for the independence of Catalonia. Election turnout was record high: 80 percent of citizens having the right to vote came to polling stations.

In Carlos Puigdemon in Brussels, the results of parliamentary elections were called a "slap in the face" for Madrid, who lost "the same initiated plebiscite".

In Brussels, the results of the early parliamentary elections in Catalonia will not affect the position of the European Commission in the conflict between Barcelona and Madrid.

"We are talking about regional elections, and we do not comment on this," the agency quotes the representative of the European Commission.

At the end of October, Madrid suspended the Catalan administration and dissolved the regional parliament. The court instituted criminal proceedings for attempting a riot against a number of Catalan politicians and senior officials. Dismissed from power, Puchdemon called for considering early elections as the second round of the referendum on independence.