The President of the Government of Catalonia, Artur Mas, calls plebiscitary elections

The President of the Government of Catalonia, Artur Mas, yesterday signed the decree to dissolve the parliament and call elections for 27 September. The act was signed in the Saló Mare de Déu de Montserrat of the Palau de la Generalitat and started with the reading of the decree by the government secretary Jordi Baiget. The decree maintains the ordinary convention formula and makes no reference to the elections’ plebiscitary nature. Mas was accompanied by the Head of the Parliament, Núria de Gispert; the Vice President of the Government, Neus Munté; the Minister for the Presidency, Francesc Homs, and the Minister for Governance, Meritxell Borràs.

In his speech after the signing, Mas said that it was, ‘A call to elections according to the current legal framework’, and added, ‘Just like all previous elections in form. But everyone knows that these will be very different in heart’, in a clear reference to their plebiscitary nature. He recalled that, ‘We are at an exceptional time and exceptional actions are needed. I promised to give the people of Catalonia a voice if the Spanish state insisted on silencing it.’

Mas made a call: ‘I invite the parties to make their proposals on the future of Catalonia. My call is for everyone to respect the results that come out of the polls.’ And he reminded that Catalonia is, ‘a country of people of different origins and languages’, and that, ‘we are a millenary nation’. He said that the Catalans ‘have won the right to decide’ and ended his speech with a final phrase: ‘Let us be worthy of this moment.’