Spain on Friday dismissed the Catalan government and fired its president Carles Puigdemont, hours after the regional parliament declared independence from Madrid, Reuters reported. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called for new regional elections to be held on December 21.

The prime minister said the central government will take over the Catalan administration until a new head of the autonomous region is elected. “Spain is living through a sad day,” Rajoy said in a televised address. “We believe it is urgent to listen to Catalan citizens, to all of them, so that they can decide their future and nobody can act outside the law on their behalf.”

Rajoy also sacked the Catalan police chief, saying the decision was important to restore legality in the region, CNN reported. “We need to have confidence that the state has the tools, backed by the law and reason, [to] peacefully and reasonably go back to legality and take away threats to democracy,” he said.

The move to dissolve Catalan government came hours after the regional parliament voted to begin the process to split from Spain. The motion was passed with 70 votes in favour of Catalonia’s independence from Spain, 10 against it and two blank ballots. Shortly after the vote, the Spanish Senate granted special constitutional powers to the government in Madrid, allowing direct rule over Catalonia.

Meanwhile, Spanish public prosecutor’s office said it will file rebellion charges next week against secessionist leader Puigdemont, AFP reported. The crime of “rebellion under Spanish law is punishable up to 30 years in jail.

France and Germany among other European countries, and the United States, have rejected the independence declaration, Reuters reported.