Ousted Catalan leader calls for united front for independence
Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont who went to Belgium said on Friday he was considering standing in the election from Brussels
MADRID/BARCELONA: Ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont called on Saturday for a united political front in the December 21 election to continue the drive for independence from Spain and to protest the imprisonment of former members of the regional government.
Puigdemont, who went to Belgium after his government was fired following a unilateral declaration of independence, said on Friday he was considering standing in the election from Brussels.
In Spain’s gravest political crisis since the return of democracy in the late 1970s, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called the snap election after taking control of Catalonia a week ago. Political parties that wish to run on a common platform have until Tuesday to register any potential coalition and until November 18 to put forward their candidates.
“It is time for all democrats to join together. For Catalonia, for the freedom of political prisoners and for the republic,” Puigdemont said in a tweet that included the hashtag llistaunitaria.cat, a site calling for parties to unite against the Spanish government at the ballot box. Signatures on the website rose to over 27,000 from just 2,000 within a couple of hours of Puigdemont’s tweet on Saturday morning.
In a poll published on Tuesday, the pro-independence coalition Junts pel Si (Together for Yes) was seen winning in December with 35.2 per cent if the vote was held immediately. That would return a parliamentary majority to independence supporters if the group stuck with its current pact with far-left party CUP.
The wealthy northeastern region continues to be evenly split between those that support leaving Spain and those that wish to remain part of the country, according to polls taken since the declaration of independence.
If pro-independence parties run on different tickets, it may be difficult for them to win a parliamentary majority, though the imprisonment of former government members may help unite an electorate already wary of Madrid’s tactics, seen by many as heavy handed. Full story @ timesofoman.com/world