Catalan independence referendum: In the name of freedom

The Catalan independence referendum is the hot topic of discussion with every day bringing in different news about its aftermath. Spain's Constitutional Court has ordered the suspension of last week's declaration of independence by the Catalan parliament. Now Spanish prosecutors have sought jail for eight members of the deposed Catalan government. But successful or otherwise, independence referendums have always been used by citizens to decide if they want to break away from a country. One of the earliest such referendums was in 1905 when Norway separated from Sweden. Here's a look at some successful and not so successful independence referendums.

Illustration/Ravi Jadhav

Catalonia
The Catalan independence referendum of 2017 was held on 1 October 2017 in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, passed by the Parliament of Catalonia and called by the Generalitat de Catalunya. It was declared illegal and suspended by the Constitutional Court of Spain after a request from the Spanish government, who declared it a breach of the Spanish Constitution of 1978.

Demonstrators shout slogans while holding signs reading "Democracy" and "Freedom, we want you back at home" during a protest outside the Generalitat Palace in Barcelona on November 2, as members of the deposed Catalan government were being questioned in Madrid. Pic/AFP

The Quebec referendum
The 1995 Quebec referendum was the second referendum to ask voters in Quebec whether it should proclaim national sovereignty and become an independent country, with the condition precedent of offering a political and economic agreement to Canada. 93.52% of the 5,087,009 registered Quebecers voted in the referendum. The proposal of June 12, 1995 was rejected by voters, with 50.58% voting "No" and 49.42% voting "Yes".

Scottish Independence referendum
A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom took place on 18 September 2014. The question, which voters answered with "Yes" or "No", was "Should Scotland be an independent country?" The "No" side won, with 2,001,926 (55.3%) voting against independence and 1,617,989 (44.7%) voting in favour.

Northern Ireland
In 1973, the people of Northern Ireland were granted a referendum on whether they should remain part of the UK or join the Republic of Ireland. The result was 98.9% in favour of union with the rest of the UK, but the poll was overwhelmingly boycotted by nationalists, and the turnout was therefore 58.7%. The pro-UK vote did however represent 57.5% of the entire electorate, notwithstanding the boycott.

The Aus republic referendum
The Australian republic referendum held on 6 November 1999 was a two-question referendum to amend the Constitution of Australia. The first question asked whether Australia should become a republic. The second question asked whether Australia should alter the Constitution to insert a preamble. Both propositions failed, with none of the states recording an overall "Yes" vote.

South Sudan
A referendum took place in Southern Sudan from 9 to 15 January 2011, on whether the region should remain part of Sudan. On 7 February 2011, the referendum commission published the final results, with 98.83% voting in favour of independence. While the ballots were suspended in 10 of the 79 counties for exceeding 100% of voter turnout, the number of votes were still well over the requirement of 60% turnout, and the majority vote for secession was not in question.

Iraqi Kurdistan Independence referendum
An independence referendum for Iraqi Kurdistan was held on September 25, 2017, with preliminary results showing approximately 93 percent of votes cast in favour of independence. The referendum's legality was rejected by the federal government of Iraq.