Catalonia’s ousted separatist leader, Carles Puigdemont, has declared that the Spanish state has been defeated in a snap regional election.
Speaking in Brussels where he is in self-imposed exile, Mr Puigdemont hailed the result as a victory for the “Catalan republic”.
Separatist parties will hold a slim, reduced, majority in the new assembly.
However the Citizens party, which wants Catalonia to remain a semi-autonomous part of Spain, is the biggest party.
As a result, it is unclear who will be given the right to form a government.
The Spanish government imposed direct rule on Catalonia and called the election after declaring an October independence referendum illegal.
