Spain to challenge Catalonia independence poll in Constitutional Court

The Spanish government on Monday announced it was going to appeal Catalonia's independence referendum decree before Spain’s Constitutional Court, RIA Novosti reported.

"The upcoming poll [in Catalonia] runs against the Spanish constitution. We will fulfill our duty and challenge the poll that is against the interest of the Spanish people. Nothing and nobody can breach the principle of a single and inviolable sovereignty that underlies our existence, or take away from the people of Spain their right to decide on what their country is," Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said at a press conference following a special cabinet meeting.

Artur Mas, the head of Spain's northeastern region of Catalonia, on Saturday signed a decree scheduling the independence referendum for November 9. A Catalan polls law came into force the same day allowing the region to hold plebiscites without Madrid's permission.

"I regret that Mas has called this poll. It is illegal and will divide the Catalans. An initiative cannot be passed when it is unlawful. The worst thing is that [Mas] knew it from the very beginning. But there is still time to change the course and negotiate," Rajoy told journalists.