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		</div><p>Regional leaders in Catalonia have moved to defy the central government in Madrid and go ahead with a ballot on independence even though Spain&#8217;s constitutional court has ordered the vote suspended.</p>
<p>While the pro-independence Catalan government tried to flex its muscles, most of the opposition to the vote &#8211; both regional and national &#8211; rallied around conservative prime minister Mariano Rajoy and his efforts to crush the planned October 1 ballot.</p>
<p>On Friday, the state prosecutor targeted members of the Catalan parliament and the Barcelona-based regional government in separate lawsuits.</p>
<p>The prosecutor&#8217;s document asked judges to look into possible disobedience, abuse of power and embezzlement charges against the officials.</p>
<p>Despite the court&#8217;s suspension of the vote and the legal threats, regional president Carles Puigdemont has pushed ahead with preparations for the ballot.</p>
<p>An official website offers volunteers the chance to register and help with the vote. A promotional video published in official media asks: <i>&#8220;You were born with the ability to choose. Are you going to give it up?&#8221;</i></p>
<p>Officials in the north-eastern region claim they have enlisted 560 Catalan town halls to open facilities for the ballot, despite letters sent by Spain&#8217;s central authorities to the region&#8217;s 947 mayors warning them that their legal duty is to impede the vote.</p>
<p>Authorities said similar letters were being sent to public Catalan media organisations and the regional police force.</p>
<p>It was not clear what position officials would take in Barcelona, the main city in Catalonia.</p>
<p>Barcelona mayor Ada Colau, an activist against evictions who has become a rising political star, said people should be able to vote as long as there are no liabilities for them or for public servants.</p>
<p>On Friday, central government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo clarified that legal actions are targeting &#8220;those who organise the vote&#8221; and not voters themselves.</p>
<p>The pro-independence coalition ruling Catalonia says the vote will be binding and that if the &#8220;yes&#8221; side wins it will lead to independence from Spain by October 3 no matter what the turnout.</p>
<p>Spain&#8217;s constitutional court has previously ruled that only the national government is allowed to call a referendum on secession and that all Spaniards must have a vote when it comes to sovereignty.</p>
<p>On Friday, Mr Rajoy&#8217;s cabinet began procedures to strike down a new bill approved overnight by Catalan pro-independence legislators. The new law was meant to become Catalonia&#8217;s legal framework, or mini-constitution, as it moves from a Spanish autonomous region to an independent republic.</p>
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