The Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, has asked for his appearance in the Catalan Parliament this afternoon to be delayed an hour to 7pm local time (GMT+2) to wait for last-minute contacts with international mediators. There are also reported to be disagreements between the JxSí (Together for Yes) and CUP (Popular Unity Candidacy) parties being debated.
Currently, the Parliament's Board is considering the president's request and another from Cs (Citizens) and PP (Popular Party), who have asked for the session to be suspended. For the moment, then, the president's speech is expected at 7pm. The Cs/PP suspension is not expected to be accepted as JxSí, CUP and CSQP (Catalonia Yes We Can), with a majority of the Board of Spokespeople, are against it.
Puigdemont arrived at the Parliament building at 5:04pm and headed directly to the JxSí offices, where he has been in meetings ever since. Opposition deputies had entered the chamber and were waiting in their seats when they learnt of the delay.