In October, prime minister Mariano Rajoy took direct control of Catalonia, jailing its leaders and dissolving its parliament after Catalan president Carles Puigdemont declared independence in October. Puigdemont is now in exile in Belgium.
Rajoy forced a new election, but the results are the same.
Catalan Parliament
Back in Control
Today, in a well-deserved slap in the face to prime minister Mariano Rajoy, Pro-Independence Groups Take Back Control of Catalonia’s Parliament.
Pro-independence parties took control of the Catalan parliament on Wednesday in what they hailed as the first step towards restoring the regional government after almost three months of direct rule from Madrid.
Celebrations erupted among flag-waving supporters in Barcelona as Roger Torrent, of the pro-independence Republican Left (ERC), was voted head of the speaker’s committee, the chamber’s decision-making body.
Addressing the chamber, Mr. Torrent denounced the legal proceedings against much of the pro-independence leadership. He said the imprisonment of three parliamentarians – including Oriol Junqueras, the former vice president and ERC leader – was “absolutely unjustified, and impedes them being able to freely exercise their rights”.
Opposition parties had tried to thwart the election of Mr. Torrent with a request – swiftly denied – that the parliament reject delegated votes from the three jailed politicians, whose empty seats were marked with yellow ribbons. Mr. Puigdemont and four former cabinet members in self-imposed exile in Brussels dropped their attempts to vote via delegates after Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, warned he would appeal such a move at the Constitutional Court.
Parliament Reconvenes Pro-Independence Groups Win
The BBC reports Catalonia MPs Elect Separatist Speaker as Parliament Reconvenes.
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