Spain heading for constitutional tension as Catalonia calls an early election
- 9 years ago
Spain could be heading for constitutional tension after Catalonian President, Artur Mas, signed a decree on Monday clearing the way for elections on the September 27 – ahead of a Spanish general election due by the end of the year.
Separatist leaders, who include Mas, say if they make up a majority after the poll then they will launch a bid for independence.
“Catalonia is not living under normal conditions”, Mas said in a televised address. “When an emphatic and clear majority of a country wishes to exercise its right, peacefully and democratically, but that right is rejected constantly, then the dialogue and negotiation become blocked, along with the pact and the agreement. It means we are facing an exceptional situation that also requires exceptional decisions.”
Last November 80 percent of those who voted opted for independence in a referendum that was declared unconstitutional. The turn out was low at 40 percent, but it had huge symbolic value.
Earlier on Monday Spain’s
Separatist leaders, who include Mas, say if they make up a majority after the poll then they will launch a bid for independence.
“Catalonia is not living under normal conditions”, Mas said in a televised address. “When an emphatic and clear majority of a country wishes to exercise its right, peacefully and democratically, but that right is rejected constantly, then the dialogue and negotiation become blocked, along with the pact and the agreement. It means we are facing an exceptional situation that also requires exceptional decisions.”
Last November 80 percent of those who voted opted for independence in a referendum that was declared unconstitutional. The turn out was low at 40 percent, but it had huge symbolic value.
Earlier on Monday Spain’s