Catalonia Vote Leaves Separatists in Charge, and Divided

The winning parties agree on independence, but nothing else

Residents of Spain's Catalonia region showed that they want the right to decide on possible independence but split their votes between fractious separatist parties, making that overall goal less likely than ever.

Artur Mas of the northeastern region's ruling center-right coalition had sought an absolute majority in Sunday's vote to get a mandate for an independence referendum that the central government says would be unconstitutional. But his Convergence and Union party lost seats while another rival, the pro-independence Republican Left of Catalonia, made big gains.