Ex-Catalan leader's party pledges to re-elect him remotely

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BY Unknown Saturday, January 13, 2018 0

Ex-Catalan leader's party pledges to re-elect him remotely

Catalonia's ousted regional president Carles Puigdemont (C) walks as he holds his first post-election meeting for members of his parliamentary group in Brussels on January 12, 2018. Spain's government will go to the country's Constitutional Court if Catalonia's former president Carles Puigdemont, in exile in Belgium, attempts to be re-elected into office from abroad, a government source said on January 11. Catalonia's separatist parties on December 21 retained their parliamentary majority with 70 seats in the 135-seat Catalan parliament, but eight belong to politicians who are either in jail or have fled to Belgium, after Madrid sacked the Catalan regional government following the October 1 referendum and the unilateral declaration of independence. / AFP PHOTO / JOHN THYS

The separatist party behind Catalonia's deposed president Carles Puigdemont said Friday it is determined to re-elect him remotely as the region's leader, even though he is in Belgian exile and Madrid has warned against such a move.

Puigdemont is the separatist camp's favoured candidate to lead Catalonia again after pro-independence parties won an absolute majority in December regional elections.

But he is in self-imposed exile in Belgium and risks arrest on charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds for his role in the region's failed independence bid if he comes back to Spain.

To be elected president, he should in theory be present at the parliamentary session where the vote takes place, but his supporters want him to appear by videolink or write a speech and have it read by someone else.

Asked about which option his party preferred, Elsa Artadi, Puigdemont's campaign manager, said they were "looking into all the tools that Catalan parliamentary rules allow."

In Brussels for a working meeting, she added that Puigdemont would not come back to Spain.

The Catalan parliament's rules stipulate that the candidate for the regional presidency must "present his or her government programme to parliament."

It does not detail whether this must be done in person, but several legal experts, the opposition and the central government insist it cannot be done remotely.

On Friday, central government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo said Madrid would oppose such a move, adding that the candidate to Catalonia's presidency should be physically present.

"The government would take any such trick to court, without any hesitation," he added.

Catalonia's Socialist party has asked judicial experts at the regional parliament whether appearing by videolink or via a written speech would be legal.

According to the Catalan daily La Vanguardia, "there is total unanimity" among these experts that his physical presence is required.

Artadi said it would be up to the next parliamentary speaker or lawmakers as a whole to interpret the rules.

It is still unclear however whether some separatist lawmakers will be able to vote, given some are in Belgium with Puigdemont and others in jail pending a probe into their role in the independence drive.

On Friday, the Supreme Court refused to allow the three jailed lawmakers -- including former Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras -- out to attend the first parliamentary session on January 17.

But he has allowed them to pass their vote on to someone else.

Spanish judge refuses to free four Catalan leaders as elections near

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BY Unknown Monday, December 04, 2017 0

Spanish judge refuses to free four Catalan leaders as elections near

Catalonia’s sacked vice president Oriol Junqueras and three other separatist leaders will remain in prison pending a probe over their role in the region’s independence drive, a judge decided Monday, just as Catalan elections approach.

Six other former ministers who were also remanded in custody last month will be released on bail of 100,000 euros ($120,000) each as an investigation into charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds continues, the Madrid court said in a statement.

The decision comes as axed Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont faces an extradition hearing in Belgium, where he escaped to after his region’s parliament declared independence on October 27, claiming he would not get a fair trial back home.

Spain is seeking to have Puigdemont and four of his former ministers who also fled with him sent back to face charges over their role in the independence drive.

News that Junqueras, Joaquim Forn, who used to be in charge of interior matters in Catalonia, and the leaders of two pro-independence associations will stay in prison comes as the official campaign for Catalan elections on December 21 kicks off at midnight.

Madrid called the polls after the independence declaration, sacked Catalonia’s government and suspended the region’s autonomy.

Supreme Court Judge Pablo Llarena decided there was a risk that Junqueras and the three others would repeat their alleged offences if he released them.

– Separatists divided –

Madrid wants the elections to “restore normality” to the wealthy northeastern region, which declared independence unilaterally following a referendum that went ahead on October 1 despite a court ban.

Puigdemont, Junqueras and other former ministers are candidates for the elections.

This means the campaign will take an unprecedented turn, with candidates both “in exile” and in prison.

Separatist parties have repeatedly accused Madrid of taking “political prisoners” and “repression” after their independence declaration fell flat, and the decision to keep some Catalan leaders in jail is likely to magnify those claims.

But generally, Catalans remain deeply split on independence, and several polls suggest pro-secession parties might struggle to win enough seats to form a new regional government.

“From now until December 21, the dispute in the pro-independence camp is going to get worse and they will exchange blows,” said Oriol Bartomeus, a political science professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

“They could open up a rift that prevents them returning an overall majority.”

In 2015 pro-independence parties won 47.8 percent of the vote, which allowed them to form the largest bloc in the region’s parliament.

But the latest polls show support for secessionists hovering around 45 percent — potentially putting another majority out of reach.

And unlike 2015, pro-independence parties are running on separate lists.

Junqueras hopes to lead his ERC party, which is ahead in the polls, to victory on December 21.

Puigdemont launched his campaign last month from Brussels with a flurry of high-profile media appearances and a demand that he be returned as the “legitimate” president of Catalonia.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and fellow opponents of Catalan independence, meanwhile, have hitched their hopes on a record turnout on December 21 to return a legislature in favour of unity with Spain.