Madrid : Spanish Minister of Justice Rafael Catala said that the independence poll held in Catalonia was a "useless sham".

The Spanish government said that the ballot was anti-democratic, useless and had no legal effects, Xinhua reported.

Sunday's poll saw a turnout of 1.9 million people out of an estimated census of 5.4 million in a ballot that, according to the Spanish government, breaches Spain's constitution.

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The Spanish government said that the figures were not valid because the ballot had no legal force and voting control mechanisms.

The Constitutional Court had temporarily suspended a formal referendum and the government of Catalonia, in response, decided to hold a watered-down version of the referendum, led by volunteers and without legal force.