News
Catalan Parliament launches independence process, says roadmap "not subject" to Spain
Resolution passed with 72 votes for, 63 against · Decision not subject to Spanish Constitutional Court, other bodies · Rajoy: Spanish government not to allow process to go on
The resolution was passed with votes for from 72 MPs hailing from big-tent alliance Together for Yes (JxSí, includes centre-left ERC and centre-right CDC) and democratic socialist CUP. The other 63 members of the Catalan Parliament (pro-union C's, PSC and PP, and ambiguous CSQEP) voted against the proposal.
The resolution notes that Catalonia will be opening a "constitution-making process" that will be "civic, participative, open, inclusive and active," allowing citizens to "empower" themselves "at all levels."
The text also states that the independence process will not be "subject to the decisions taken by the bodies of the Spanish state, in particular of the Constitutional Court, which it considers to be delegitimized".
JxSí says it seeks to finalize the transition process towards the Catalan republic in 18 months' time. CUP believes this can be done in a shorter period.
Nevertheless, both parties do not agree on who the next Catalan president should be. JxSí says current president Artur Mas should be given another term, but CUP argues another candidate should be picked. If disagreement persists on January 9th 2016, a snap election will be called, with the result that the independence process will be stopped -at least for some months.
Rajoy: "Spanish government not going to allow this to go on"
Immediately after the landmark vote, Spanish president Mariano Rajoy said the Spanish government "is not going to allow this [the Catalan independence process] to go on." Rajoy explained that the "first" reaction to this is a government appeal so that the Constitutional Court nullifies the Catalan Parliament resolution.
But Catalan MPs today agreed to ignore any decision from the Constitutional Court, and therefore the measure announced by Rajoy might not be enough to stop the independence process. This would require further steps, which Rajoy did not elaborate on. But he was clear to say that his government will "use all means that the rule of law has placed in the hands of democracy."
Pro-independence majority since Sep 27
Pro-independence parties JxSí and CUP hold a combined absolute majority at the Catalan Parliament since the September 27th election. JxSí secured 62 seats and CUP obtained 10. This results in a total 72 pro-independence MPs. The secessionist parties obtained some 48% of the votes in the election.
Parties explicitly opposing independence (centre-right C's and PP, and centre-left PSC) got 52 seats. C's, PP and PSC altogether received some 39% of the votes on September 27th.
Another 11 seats are held by the Catalonia Yes We Can (CSQEP) alliance, which brings together leftist parties and independents who say Catalonia should be sovereign and free to decide its own future, but who do not agree with the JxSí-CUP roadmap. The alliance received 9% of the votes.