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In brief

More than 200,000 have voted in popular referendums on Basque self-determination

Five more municipalities including Donostia join list

 
Polling place of 18 November 2018 popular referendums.
Polling place of 18 November 2018 popular referendums. Author: EAJ-PNV Gipuzkoa
More than 217,000 voters have taken part since 2014 in popular, non-binding referendums on Basque self-determination organized by Gure Esku Dago after 5 municipalities organized their own vote 18 November. Those 5 municipalities included for the first time a capital city, Donostia (San Sebastián), where turnout rose to 13%.

So far, citizens of 208 Basque municipalities have voted in those referendums. According to Gure Esku Dago spokesperson Anjel Oiarbide, the votes have helped begin exercising the right to decide and are an “effective essay in the face of future possible scenarios.”

The question on the ballot paper has been different in each municipality, so there can be no global data for “yes” or “no”. In some cases, citizens were directly asked on whether or not they support independence for the Basque Country, while in others the question was whether they agreed that Basque citizens could decide on their political future.