Hours after Spain's Constitutional Court released a suspension order for the planned Catalan independence referendum on November, the Catalonia government called off the campaign, barely two days after it was decreed.

The decision by Catalonia's president Artur Mas is seen as a precautionary measure to prevent the regional government from breaking the law. However, the Catalan public remains defiant, the Irish Times reported.

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A spokesperson for the Catalan government vowed the temporary suspension of the slated referendum on independence will not prevent the movement from happening.

"We think just the opposite," the Irish Times quoted Francesc Homs as saying.

The regional government will seek to have the ruling against staging the non-binding vote on secession lifted, he added.

Meanwhile, private citizens are free to campaign for the referendum if they so choose, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Following Mas' signing of a decree that set the referendum date on November 9, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Monday submitted a 100-page appeal to the Spanish high courts to outlaw the movement, making the case that it was illegal and unconstitutional.

In response, the Spanish magistrates called for an extraordinary session on Monday night and unanimously passed a resolution to suspend the referendum campaign until a definitive ruling is made in five months.

Homs said Catalonia's government will soon present a plea with Madrid's courts. He expressed hope that the magistrates would review their case as they did Rajoy's claims, which were filed and heard on the same day, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Catalonia has, in recent weeks, been staging massive campaigns promoting the planned referendum independence. The Catalonia government launched a website for the referendum on Sunday and distributed a video urging people to vote, according to the Guardian.

Also on Sunday, Catalonia's vice-president said about 10,000 ballots have been prepared, while groups supporting the Catalan independence referendum have begun recruiting 100,000 volunteers to launch door-to-door canvassing.

TagsCatalan independence referendum, Catalan referendum on indepence, November 9 independence referendum, Spain, Catalonia, Catalan