Catalan separatists won election; Spanish state defeated

Catalan, Dec 23: Catalan separatists won a crucial snap poll Thursday, plunging their region into further uncertainty after a failed independence bid rattled Europe and triggered Spain's worst political crisis in decades.

With turnout at a record high and 99.9% of the ballots counted, the election handed a mandate back to the region's ousted separatist leaders, even after they campaigned from exile and behind bars.

In a clear indicator of the huge gulf over independence afflicting Catalan society, anti-secessionist centrist party Ciudadanos had the biggest individual result with 37 of the 135 seats in the regional parliament.

"It's a strange feeling. We won the majority of seats, but we lost in votes," 26-year-old doctor and separatist supporter Fran Robles told.

"It's a good reflection of the reality that Catalonia is politically divided," he added.