Barcelona, Spain -- Voters in Catalonia on Sunday are choosing lawmakers for this wealthy Spanish region's parliament amid a threat from the Catalan leader to hold an independence referendum that would test the country's unity.
The regional government, led by Artur Mas, called early elections as part of a power struggle with the central government run by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy centered on the size of Catalonia's contribution to national coffers.
Polls forecast a majority for parties supporting a referendum on independence, a plebiscite that Spain's central government has ridiculed and called "unconstitutional."
Just over 5.2 million people are eligible to vote for candidates to fill the 135-seat Catalan parliament that sits in Barcelona.
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