The Catalan parliament will be dissolved and new regional elections will take place on December 21, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Friday.

Spanish government also formally removed Catalonia's separatist leader Carles Puigdemont and his cabinet from office as part of measures to "restore normality" after lawmakers voted to make the region independent from Spain.

Rajoy added that the government was also asking the Constitutional Court to invalidate the Catalan parliament's resolution on independence.

Earlier Friday, Catalonia's parliament declared independence from Spain in defiance of the Madrid government, which imposed a direct rule shortly after the Catalan parliament's vote.

The firing of the regional leaders is likely to meet with fierce opposition in Catalonia, where thousands have been celebrating the independence declaration.