Catalan president sets November deadline for Spanish president to agree on referendum

Tue, 02 Oct 2018 23:40:40 +0000

President Quim Torra has set November as the deadline for the ongoing talks with Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, to result in an agreed referendum on self-determination. In his opening speech of the annual general policy debate in Parliament on Tuesday, the head of the Catalan government warned his Spanish counterpart of the consequences if he ignores the deadline.

“If there is no proposal for a vote on self-determination before November, the independence movement will not be able to guarantee Mr. Pedro Sánchez any stability in Congress,” he said.

Sánchez dethroned Mariano Rajoy in the spring with a successful motion of no confidence that was backed by the Catalan pro-independence parties, among others. Without the support of the Esquerra and PDeCAT parties, the Spanish government will lose its majority in the Congress.

Specific commitments

“It is necessary for [the Spanish] president Sánchez to make specific commitments. We have been more patient than was required of us by the public,” he said. “We have political prisoners, exiles, and thousands of prosecuted citizens. Our patience is not endless.”

Also during his speech on Tuesday, Torra announced he would send a letter the very same evening to Sánchez, urging a meeting.

Torra also made it clear that his government is still committed to implementing the “referendum mandate” –in which the ‘yes’ vote won with 90% of the votes based on a turnout of 43%– but he asked for “unity” from the parties in favor of independence.

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Catalan president sets November deadline for Spanish president to agree on referendum - VilaWeb

Catalan president sets November deadline for Spanish president to agree on referendum