19.09.2014 - 12:34
Today has been one of the most decisive dates in Catalonia’s process toward sovereignty. The Catalan Parliament voted on the proposed referendum law, the legal basis that will allow the President of the Generalitat, Artur Mas, to hold a referendum on independence from Spain on 9 November. The law passed with votes in favour from the governing centre-right CiU and a broad-spectrum of left-leaning parties including ERC, ICV-EUiA, CUP, and the Catalan socialist party, PSC; only the staunchly conservative PP and the newly-formed Ciutadans were opposing it. Although PSC voted in favour of the referendum law, it does not support the independence vote planned for 9 November.
The proposed legislation, which also governs the procedure for calling popular consultation votes other than referendums, aims to establish who has the authority to hold popular consultations and other participatory measures under Catalonia’s Statute of Autonomy (the Catalan constitution).
Under the new law, popular consultations may be held at the national, local and sectorial level, provided that the content of the questions or proposals that are the subject of the consultation falls within the competence of the institution that is calling the vote. In the case of the 9-N referendum, that would be the Generalitat, the Catalan government. Secessionist parties believe that holding an independence vote falls within the authority of the Generalitat, and will therefore fall within the scope of the new law. The PSC, on the other hand, believes any decision on the matter should be reserved for the central government of Spain, and cannot be decided on by means of this law.
The proposed law has been cleared by the Generalitat’s Council for Statutory Guarantees, the government body charged with ensuring the adequacy of Catalan laws with regards to the Catalan and Spanish constitutions.
The 9-N vote and the Spanish government’s reaction
The precise moment when President Mas will be signing the referendum decree is uncertain, but the Spanish government has extraordinary measures in place in order to immediately challenge both the law and the decree before the Constitutional Court, according to Spain’s two leading newspapers, El Mundo and El País.
The Catalan government expects Mas to sign the referendum decree as soon as the law has been passed in order to avoid affording the Spanish Constitutional Court the chance to provisionally suspend it. A suspension would be effective as soon as the Spanish government submitted the necessary paperwork and the court agreed to hear the matter.
Political tensions are running high. The events of the coming days will be crucial and may determine whether the agreement of the majority of parties in the Catalan Parliament to hold an independence vote on 9 November goes forward.
