Pro-independence parties representing Spain's Catalonia region won an absolute majority in Sunday’s regional elections.

The BBC reports the separatist alliance, coupled with a smaller nationalist party, has won 72 seats in the 135-seat regional parliament. For the separatists, Sunday’s victory was a clear sign that they are moving ever-closer to an independent Catalan state.

According to Reuters, Artur Mas, the head of the regional government, declared, "Catalans have voted yes to independence.”

In the wake of Sunday’s election results, Catalonia’s unionist leaders have already called for Mas to resign.

Despite their faith that they will soon break away from Spain, the separatists must still manage to get a legally-recognized referendum in place. This will be difficult, as Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who has long opposed any attempts to hold a referendum on secession, has vowed to challenge any unilateral moves toward a referendum in court.

AFP reports Pablo Casado, a spokesman for the ruling Popular Party, said the government would "continue to defend the unity of Spain."

2015 has been a year of great political uncertainty for Spain, as the radical leftist Podemos party and the center-right Ciudadanos party have both emerged as serious electoral challengers.

Pablo Iglesias, the 36-year-old leader of Podemos, opposes Catalan independence, but still supports a full referendum on the issue, saying, "Only if our party governs in Spain can we build a country called Spain where there is also a place for a nation called Catalonia."

Albert Rivera, the leader of Ciudadanos, opposes the separation and has written Mas off as a relic of "old politics."

Inés Arrimadas, a Ciudadanos member who will most likely lead the Catalan opposition in the new parliament, said that Mas should call a new election instead of forming a government. The Wall Street Journal reports Arrimadas said, "To me, the only clear conclusion from this election is that Mr. Mas won’t be the next Catalan president.”