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2015 Catalan Parliamentary Election
Topic Started: Sep 27 2015, 03:59 AM (56 Views)
Webster
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Washington Post: Catalans Vote To Determine Future With Spain

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BARCELONA, Spain — Voters in Catalonia are participating in an election that could propel the northeastern region toward independence from the rest of Spain or quell secessionism for years.

Secessionists have long pushed for an independence referendum, but Spain’s central government has not allowed one, arguing it would be unconstitutional because only it can call such a vote.

Sunday’s election is for Catalonia’s 135-member Parliament, located in the region’s capital Barcelona. Secessionists argue if they win 68 seats, the result would give them a democratic mandate to initiate a split from Spain that could include a unilateral declaration of independence.

The central government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says it will use all legal means to prevent Catalonia from breaking away, an exit European leaders warn would include ejection from the European Union.

....thoughts?
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Webster
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SRN News: Exit Polls Show Catalan Separatists Winning

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BARCELONA (Reuters) – Separatists have won a clear majority of seats in Catalonia’s parliament, an exit poll showed on Sunday, in an election that could set the region on a collision course with Spain’s central government over independence.

The main secessionist group “Junts pel Si” (Together for Yes) would get between 63 and 66 seats in the 135-strong assembly, while smaller leftist party CUP would secure another 11 to 13 seats, according to the poll released by local broadcaster TV3, the largest carried out.

They would jointly obtain 49.8 percent of the vote, amid a an expected record turnout, in what would be a big boost to a secession campaign which has been losing support over the last two years.

“Junts pel Si” and CUP had said before the vote that such a result would allow them to unilaterally declare independence within 18 months, under a plan that would see the new Catalan authorities approving their own constitution and building institutions like an army, central bank and judicial system.

The Spanish center-right government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, which has opposed attempts to hold a referendum on secession, has called the breakaway plan “a nonsense” and vowed to block it in court. Spain’s constitution does not allow any region to break away.

Catalan secession remains highly hypothetical, but the strong pro-independence showing is a blow for Rajoy less than three months before a countrywide election.

It also creates additional uncertainty over potential talks over a more favorable tax regime and laws that better protect language and culture, which analysts say are needed to soothe Catalan discontent.

Many of the 5.5 million voters had said on Sunday that they did not believe Catalonia would become independent and had used their ballot as a way to press the Catalan and Spanish authorities to discuss those issues.
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Webster
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Washington Post: What's Next For Catalonia Following Regional Elections

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On Sunday, political parties in favor of secession won an election in Catalonia, a wealthy region in northwestern Spain. The victors did not mince words when explaining what the results meant: "Catalans have voted yes to independence," said Artur Mas, the veteran Catalan leader.

Leaders of Junts pel Si ("Together for Yes," in Catalan) — a coalition of pro-independence parties from both sides of the political spectrum — had framed Sunday's election as a plebiscite on the region's future. Years of protests and an unofficial referendum on the question of independence, though dismissed by Madrid, have generated real political momentum in Catalonia toward secession.

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The region is the wealthiest in Spain, has its own distinct cultural and political history as well as longstanding grievances over various iterations of rule from Madrid. A delegation of pro-independence Catalan politicians, speaking to WorldViews on a visit to Washington a few weeks prior the elections, insisted their region had a right to control its own destiny, just like Denmark or Austria — European nation-states with populations of comparable size.

The regional elections on Sunday would dictate whether they had a mandate to pursue, no matter the intransigence of Madrid.

"Spain will not be able to ignore a clear majority," said Roger Albinyana, then secretary for foreign affairs of Catalonia's Generalitat — the region's governing body that dates back to the 13th century.

But that's where the trouble for Catalonia's separatists begins. Junts pel Si did not win a clear majority. Combined with the Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP), a separate leftist party that also favors independence, the secessionist bloc commands enough seats to control Catalonia's regional government, but won less than 50 percent of the actual vote.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, a conservative who is adamantly opposed to any Catalonia independence bid, cast the election result in a very different light than the separatists. "Yesterday we saw the plurality of Catalonia," he told reporters on Monday. "Those who proposed to break us apart didn't have legal backing, or the backing of voters."

--Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/09/29/whats-next-for-catalonia-the-spanish-region-that-wants-to-be-europes-next-nation/
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