No elections in Cataloñia

Cataloñia map elections independenceCataloniae principatus 1608. Illustration: Wikipedia.org

Cataloñia was held in suspension regarding elections

President Puigdemont was expected to make a statement that Cataloñia announces elections and does not declare independence. Puigdemont will however not announce elections in Cataloñia. He announced this in a speech at 17 pm Thursday afternoon. He asks according to BBC the Parliament to decide the next step for the region.

 

There is total confusion in Cataloñia. Regional President Carles Puigdemont was to make a statement on the square in front of the Catalan Government building on Thursday, only at 1.30 pm, this was postponed to 2.30 pm. The President did not yetappear before the massive number of demonstrators who has gathered in the square until just now.

It is still expected that he will declare that Cataloñia announces elections to take place on December 20, and is therefore not going to declare independence. But if, when and where this announcement will be made is unclear.

An announcement of elections will imply that Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s demands to not deprive Cataloñia of its self-government have been met.

Can prevent the self governance of Cataloñia from being revoked

The reason is that the Spanish Senate this week has discussed what to do with Cataloñia. They are supposed to vote in favour of the proposal to remove the political leadership and revoke the region of self governance on Friday.

The Government on Saturday announced that it will implement Article 155 of the Spanish constitution and deprive Cataloñia of all self governance – unless Puigdemont denounce the thought to leave Spain by Thursday.The option that will have the greatest support in the Senate right now is to have voluntary election in exchange for article 155 not being enforced, reports Spanish Rac 1.

this however requires that the regional government in Cataloñia voluntarily agree to this by not declaring independence and announce elections.

If Puigdemont makes his statement, he takes a position on how Cataloñia will relate to the pressure from the Spanish Government.

A meeting has been announced in the Spanish Senate at 5 pm on Thursday afternoon, where the implementation of Article 155 will be discussed. According to the newspaper El Pais, the Senate states that this meeting will be held regardless, but if Puigdemont makes a statement, the meeting might get a different outcome than planned.

Carles Riera in the Catalan Party CUP, which is one of the supporting parties in Puigemon’s Government, is also very negative to elections, writes El Publico.

– Until now, the independence movement has had one problem, now it has two, he says.

The division in both the Catalan regional Government and the Catalan independence movement are huge, and it is unclear what will happen next.

The Spanish Senate will convene on Friday to vote on the formal imposement of Article 155. If Puigdemonts declares for elections, this will be halted.

The Spanish parties are satisfied

The spokesman for the biggest opposition party in Spain, PSOE, says regarding Puigemon’s possible statement that this would be “great news” and a “victory for democracy,” according to La Vanguardia.

The Government and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, have previously stated that the only way Cataloñia can avoid losing all self governance is not declaring their independence and to hold elections. Rajoy believes this is the best solution to the stalemate.

The regional president’s statement will be delivered after a seven-hour long meeting in the regional Government, where it has been discussed how Cataloñia can prevent Article 155 from being implemented, according to La Vanguardia.

Massive demonstrations in Cataloñia

Puigemon’s announced statement raises strong reactions in the Catalan independence movement. On the square where Puigdemont said he would deliver his statement, there have been massive demonstrations.

– Article 155 can not be a negotiating card, the Democratic Party in Cataloñia wrote in a press release on Thursday, saying that they would follow the results of the referendum on October 1, which rendered a majority for Catalan independence.

Frustrated Catalan independence activists express great disappointment and much anger at the news that the President may choose refrain from declaring independence

The crisis in Cataloñia

  • Spain is in its deepest political crisis for decades. The authorities in Cataloñia held a referendum on independence on October 1 without permission from central authorities, which have been faced with strong counter-reactions. 43 percent of the Catalans voted.
  • On Saturday, the Government of Spain agreed that they commit to depriving Cataloñia of its autonomy by implementing Article 155 of the Constitution. Regional President Carles Puigdemont believes the reaction from Madrid is a coup d’état.
  • Spain’s Government has decided to apply Article 155 of the Constitution.
  • It is planned to be voted on how this should be implemented on Friday. Now it might not happen anyway.

Article 155: This is at stake

  • These matters are to be voted on by the Senate regarding the implementation of Article 155 on Friday
  • Spain’s Central Government will be given power of attorney to dissolve the Catalan Parliament and call for new elections within six months.
  • Meanwhile, the regional administration must report to the Government officials designated by the central government.
  • During the period, measures will be taken to deal with sensitive issues such as security and public order, financial and financial matters, tax and budget matters and telecommunications
  • Cataloñia’s administration is to continue to perform its duties. Measures will be taken to ensure that they do so according to the Spanish Constitution and Cataloñia’s current autonomy.

 

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