Catalan independence referendum, 2017

The regional Government of Catalonia has set a referendum on Catalan independence for 1 October 2017.^[1] The call for referendum was announced in June 2017 and approved on 6 September 2017. The referendum's proponents intend for it to be binding, even though such referendum would be illegal in the Spanish constitutional edifice.^[2]^[3] The referendum was immediately suspended by the Constitutional Court on 7 September 2017, with the Catalan government stating the court order was not valid for Catalonia and proceeding to gather the support of 750^[4] of 948 municipalities of Catalonia,^[5]^[6] ^[7] including Barcelona.^[8]

The Government of Spain opposes any Catalan self-determination referendum,^[9]^[10] maintaining that the Spanish Constitution does not allow for a vote on the independence of any Spanish region while also deeming it illegal without its consent;^[11]^[12] an interpretation also favoured by the Catalan Statutory Guarantees Council.^[13] On the other hand, the Catalan government invokes the right to self-determination for calling the referendum. However, the Council of Europe, when consulted by Carles Puigdemont, president of Catalan government, said that any referendum must be carried out "in full compliance with the constitution".^[14] So far, the Catalan government has tried but failed to get international support; in particular, Spain’s European partners see Catalonia’s status as a strictly internal matter.^[14]

Following a constitutionality check demanded by the Spanish government, the Constitutional Court of Spain annulled the resolution emanated by the Parliament of Catalonia to hold such a vote.^[15] The Government of Catalonia, though, maintains that the vote will still be held; in this regard, on 9 June 2017, Puigdemont announced it for 1 October.^[1] This led to the ongoing 2017 Spanish constitutional crisis.

The Catalan government had aimed to thwart legal action on behalf of the Spanish government by rushing a referendum law through its own parliament, by simple majority, in September^[14] declaring that it would then follow a "Catalan-only" legality (as opposed to the general Spanish one). Spain’s deputy prime minister, Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, had notified the Catalan government in advance that the state would strike down the referendum law right after it was passed

Background[edit]

The ballot was initially scheduled for no later than 17 September 2017, a result of an election pledge made by pro-independence parties ahead of the 2015 Catalan election (during the previous legislature, the Catalan government had held a non-binding "citizen participation process" about the question).

The election resulted in a minority government for the Junts pel Sí coalition (JxSí), which had won a plurality of MPs (62 of the 135 seats), plus conditional support from the 10 CUP-CC MPs. Shortly after the government was formed, it resolved to hold a referendum on independence.^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]

2014 self-determination referendum[edit]

2015 regional election[edit]

Initiation of the Process of Independence Declaration[edit]

History

On 24 January 2017 the Government of Catalonia held a privately organised conference ^[20] on one of the rooms of the European Parliament in its Brussels headquarters. The event, entitled "The Catalan Referendum", was promoted by Carles Puigdemont, President, Oriol Junqueras, Vice President, and Raül Romeva. It was attended by 500 people, among whom were MEPs, diplomats and journalists from the international media.^[21]^[22]^[23]^[24]

Organization[edit]

The Catalan government’s decree officially calling the referendum was expected to be approved in the second half of August^[25] but was approved only on 6 September.^[26]

Shortly after the referendum was announced, attention focused on the issue of the ballot boxes, since the Government of Spain is in charge of providing them, whereas for this not State-sanctioned vote, the Generalitat would have to put them in place, potentially risking prosecution for misuse of public funds. On 24 March, the Spanish Public Prosecutor's Office in Catalonia had already announced an inquiry to determine whether a referendum is in the planning.^[27]

Tendering by the Catalan government for materials such as ballot papers and envelopes for a putative regional election in the region are thought by some to be an attempt to covertly organize the referendum.^[28]^[29]^[30]

In terms of its organization, besides the unconstitutionality of the poll, the electoral roll is one of the main points in contention, since this is managed by the National Institute of Statistics, an autonomous organization placed under the jurisdiction of the government of Spain. To have access to its data, polls must have been authorized by the Spanish Congress, something which is out of the question in this case.^[31] Without an undisputed access to the electoral roll, the results can be deemed unreliable. Similar difficulties could be met when it comes to the electoral commission to be formed for monitoring the polling and results.^[31]

An official announcement by the Generalitat suggested that Catalan residents overseas willing to vote would have to register. By the end of June 2017, out of 285,000 Catalans living abroad and eligible to vote, 5,000 had registered.^[32]

Tensions within the Catalan government[edit]

On July 3, president Puigdemont sacked his Minister for Enterprise, Jordi Baiget, who, in the face of the legal challenges, had just expressed doubts regarding the referendum taking place as envisioned by the Catalan government.^[33]

Then, on July 14, Puigdemont proceeded with a cabinet reshuffle, replacing three additional ministers in his cabinet (the ones responsible for Presidency, Education and Interior) in a move widely seen as a removal of the remaining hesitant voices within his cabinet in regards to the referendum issue.^[34]

On July 17, the Catalan police, called Mossos d'Esquadra, chief resigned without giving any reason. The Catalan police force is seen as key to enforcing any court orders sought by the central government challenging the secession vote.^[35]

Additional isolated resignations and dismissals have been noted among some of the high-level civil servants potentially playing a role with the vote's organization.^[36]^[37]^[38]^[39]^[40]

Scope[edit]

When the Spanish Constitutional court suspended the law on the referendum on 7 September 2017, it forbade several Catalan office holders, the Catalan media, as well as the 948 municipalities of Catalonia to participate in the preparation of the referendum.^[41] The municipalities were instructed to reply within 48 hours whether they intended to comply or not. Out of 726 municipalities that answered, 682 announced that they will support the referendum anyway, 41 announced they would refuse to support it, and three, including the municipality of Barcelona, answered without making their intentions clear.^[42] Among those that refused to support the referendum, however, there are large population centers,^[43] such as the provincial capitals of Lleida (140,000 inhabitants) and Tarragona (130,000 inhabitants) or the cities of Terrassa (215,000 inhabitants) and Hospitalet de Llobregat (250,000 inhabitants) governed by PSC mayors. The mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, while refusing to make a statement whether the municipality of Barcelona would provide logistic support to the referendum or not, strongly criticised the "language of testosterone" and the pressure that she said was being exerted on the municipalities. Nevertheless, she announced that she would do anything possible to allow those in Barcelona who wished to vote to do so.^[44]

Administration[edit]

Ballot paper that will be used on the referendum

Date[edit]

The Catalan Government announced that the referendum would be held on 1 October 2017.

Eligibility to vote[edit]

The following people were entitled to vote in the referendum:

Those who have the political condition of Catalan, are 18 or more on the voting day, are not under any of the situations that legally deprive the right to vote and are on the electoral roll.
Those Catalans currently residing abroad and who have their last residence in Catalonia, fulfil all the legal requirements, and have formally applied to take part in the voting process.

Electoral supervision[edit]

The Electoral Commission of Catalonia was responsible for overseeing the referendum.

Question[edit]

The question of the referendum is "Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?".

Campaign[edit]

The campaign will last 15 days, spanning from 00:00 on 15 September 2017 to 24:00 on 29 September 2017.

Economic repercussions[edit]

As of August 2017 the spread between Spanish 10-year government debt and German bonds was close to its narrowest in seven years; however, since the start of July the yield on the Catalan regional government’s bonds had jumped by about 50 basis points,^[45] signalling unease among investors in regards to the referendum issue.

Hardliners within the secessionist movement have threatened to call for a general strike in case the referendum eventually does not take place.^[45]

Opinion polls[edit]

On the 1 October 2017 referendum[edit]

Pollsters generally started using the proposed referendum question ("Do you want Catalonia to be an independent state in the form of a republic?") after it was revealed in early June 2017.^[46]

The Opinion Studies Center (CEO) polled respondents on their intentions rather than asking them the actual referendum question. In its March 2017 poll, aside from asking respondents whether they would want Catalonia to become an independent state, it asked their intents in the event of a referendum on the independence of Catalonia being called and organized by the Generalitat without agreement from the Spanish Government. In a July 2017 poll a similar question was proposed, with the difference that it asked about the actual 1 October referendum.

fonte imagens google

fonte redação https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_independence_referendum,_2017

Royal corruption scandal: Spanish King Felipe VI strips his own sister of royal title

SPAIN’s King Felipe VI has stripped his sister Cristina of her Duchess of Palma title.

By GERARD COUZENS

PUBLISHED: 08:10, Fri, Jun 12, 2015 | UPDATED: 08:46, Fri, Jun 12, 2015

The monarch announced the surprise move late last night in reaction to an ongoing corruption scandal involving his older sibling.

The royal decree removing Princess Cristina’s right to use the title took effect at midnight last night/on Thursday night.

In December a judge ruled the 49-year-old could be tried for alleged tax fraud.

She will become the first member of the Spanish Royal Family to stand in the dock and could face more than six years in prison if convicted.

She is accused of cooperating in tax evasion by her husband, the former Olympic handball player Inaki Urdangarin.

He is accused of embezzling and laundering millions of euros in public funds

Cristina was awarded her Duchess of Palma title in 1997 by her father, former Spanish king Juan Carlos, when she married.

King Felipe, who succeeded the throne on June 19 last year following Juan Carlos’ abdication after 39 years, insisted corruption across Spain must be stamped out in his first Christmas Eve speech.

Speaking out after a string of corruption scandals, he stressed public figures didn’t have a right to “profit or become rich.”

His sister, who is two years older than him, had been indicted just two days earlier.

Spain’s new King and his wife, former newsreader Letizia Ortiz, have attempted to regain the support of royalists who became disillusioned during the last few years of Juan Carlos’ reign.

Juan Carlos had to make a grovelling apology in April 2012 over a controversial elephant hunting trip to Botswana at the height of Spain’s economic crisis.

The trip came to light after he broke his hip in a fall and had to be flown back to Madrid for surgery

The couple have consistently denied any wrongdoing.