Catalan Gov't Sets Up Website for Voting in Independence Referendum Amid Clashes

The Catalan government has launched a website and a mobile app for voting, though the local laws ban online voting.

MADRID (Sputnik) — The Generalitat, the regional government of Catalonia, has opened a website and a mobile app for voting amid reports about Spanish police dragging people out of the polling stations and firing rubber bullets in an attempt to hinder Catalan independence referendum.

The government said earlier that the voters would be able to use the website, created on the blogging platform Wordpress, to cast their votes until 11:59 p.m. local time (21:59 GMT). However, the website is currently unavailable.

According to Catalan laws, the voting via the Internet is not permitted.

Earlier in the day, a number of polling stations opened across Catalonia. The Spanish government is considering the vote to be illegal and taking measures aimed at foiling the referendum. According to media reports, police resorted to rubber bullets to disperse the protesters, who attempted to prevent police from shutting down the polling stations. Catalan government's spokesman Jordi Turull said that at least 460 people had been injured in clashes with Spanish police.