Catalan election latest: Carles Puigdemont says de facto independence vote is a chance for region to 'return to normality'

'It's not normal, an election that takes place with candidates in prison and candidates in exile'

Samuel Osborne
Thursday 21 December 2017 12:55 GMT
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Voters in Catalonia face a momentous choice in the elections for their regional parliament
Voters in Catalonia face a momentous choice in the elections for their regional parliament

Catalonia's deposed President has said a de facto vote on independence is a chance for the region to "return to normality."

Carles Puigdemont said: ​"It's not normal, an election that takes place with candidates in prison and candidates in exile."

He went on to refer to his own situation in Brussels, where he is evading a Spanish arrest warrant, as an imposed absence.

Voters in Catalonia face a momentous choice in the elections for their regional parliament: either support political parties determined to keep up the pressure to turn their region into Europe's newest country, or opt for those who want it to stay as part of Spain.

Inside Catalonia's pro-independence movement

The pivotal election is aimed at breaking the bitter deadlock over the issue of secession. But neither side is likely to win a clear majority in the new regional parliament, setting up the scenario of long and challenging negotiations to form a new Catalan government.

Opinion polls have shown fugitive and jailed separatist candidates neck-and-neck in opinion polls with unionists, who claim to be in the best position to return Catalonia to stability and growth.

But with a record turnout expected, the outcome could hinge on the more than one-fifth who are undecided among Catalonia's 5.5 million eligible voters.

Weeks of campaigning involved little debate about regional policy on issues such as public education, health or housing.

At the heart of the battle instead was the sensational recent independence push that led to Spain's worst political crisis in decades.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy sacked Catalonia's previous government for holding the referendum and declaring independence.

He then called the vote in the hopes of returning Catalonia to "normality" under a unionist government, or failing that a separatist government acting within the Spanish and regional laws and not seeking a unilateral split.

A new separatist majority might further dampen investors' confidence in Catalonia, which by itself has an economy larger than that of Portugal and is a key driver of Spain's economic growth.

However, separatist leaders - who have campaigned while Spanish courts investigate them on allegations of rebellion for their roles in the 1 October referendum - have recently backed away from demands for unilateral secession.

The independence campaign pitched Spain into its worst political turmoil since the collapse of fascist rule and return of democracy in the 1970s. It has polarised public opinion, dented Spain's economic rebound and prompted a business exodus from Catalonia to other parts of the country.

Additional reporting by agencies

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