Catalonia’s president has said he will not call a regional election that could have defused tension with Spain.

Carles Puigdemont said he had considered calling a snap election, but was choosing not to because he had not received sufficient guarantees that the government’s “abusive” moves to take control of Catalonia would be suspended.

In a hastily-called address from his palace in Barcelona and with the eyes of the world watching, the separatist leader said the regional parliament now will decide how to respond to the Spanish authorities’ takeover plan.

The unprecedented measures are set to be approved on Friday in Madrid and will lead to the first direct intervention by central authorities in the affairs of one of the country’s 17 autonomous regions.

Spain’s conservative government had offered to halt the extraordinary measures if a new election was to be called in Catalonia, but later backtracked.

Mr Puigdemont also said it was now up to the Catalan parliament to move forward with a mandate to split from Spain following an independence referendum that took place earlier this month.

Observers had been anticipating the possibility of an independence declaration all week, after Mr Puigdemont said there would be a session of the Catalan parliament on Thursday.

But that threat was reduced to the prospect of a snap election by inside sources briefing the media on Wednesday.

It now appears that Mr Puigdemont failed to win the assurances he wanted that Madrid would step back from imposing its will on the region if he called the election.

The independence issue has led to Spain’s deepest political crisis in the four decades since the country restored democratic rule after General Francisco Franco’s dictatorship.

Mr Puigdemont has said the referendum, which was outlawed by Spain’s constitutional court, gave him the mandate to declare independence, but he has stopped short of proclaiming a new republic, saying he wants to give the Spanish government a chance to negotiate.

Those who voted were overwhelmingly in favour of independence, but less than half of eligible voters went to the polls.

Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Show all 17 1 /17 Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A man faces off Spanish Civil Guards outside a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Riot police form a security cordon around the Ramon Llull school in Barcelona EPA Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Riot police evict a young woman during clashes between people gathered outside the Ramon Llull school in Barcelona EPA Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Spanish Civil Guard officers break through a door at a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Spanish National Police clash with pro-referendum supporters in Barcelona on Sunday AP Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Crowds raise their arms up as police move in on members of the public gathered outside to prevent them from voting in the referendum at a polling station where the President Carles Puigdemunt will vote later today Getty Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters People confront Spanish Civil Guard officers outside a polling station Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Three man hold each other as they try to block a Spanish police van from approaching a polling station AP Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A woman shows a ballot to a Spanish Civil Guard officer outside a polling station Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A man wearing a shirt with an Estelada (Catalan separatist flag) and holding carnations faces off with a Spanish Civil Guard officer Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Police try to control the area as people attempt to cast their ballot at a polling station in Barcelona Getty Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A man is grabbed by officers as police move in on the crowds Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Two women argue with a Spanish National policeman during clashes between Catalan pro-independence people and police forces at the Sant Julia de Ramis sports centre in Girona EPA Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Sant Julia De Ramis in Spain Getty Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Confrontation outside a polling station in Barcelona, where police have tried to stop people voting AFP/Getty Images Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A Spanish National Police officer aims a rubber-bullet rifle at pro-referendum supporters in Barcelona AP Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Riot police clashed with voters as polls opened in Barcelona Sky News

Madrid insists it cannot negotiate secession, and prime minister Mariano Rajoy is seeking to activate constitutional powers that will allow the government to take over control of much of the autonomous region’s affairs.