Catalan independence supporters win majority in election

A protester holds an "estelada" or independence flag. (AP Photo/Santi Palacios)

It was hardly an emphatic victory, however, as the separatists lost support compared to the previous vote in 2015, and a pro-unity party for the first time became the biggest single bloc in the Catalan parliament.

The result left more questions than answers about what is next for Catalonia, where a long-standing push for independence escalated to a full-on clash with the Spanish government two months ago.

It was also a blow to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who as a result of the separatists’ defiance ousted the Catalan Cabinet and called the early election hoping to keep them out of power.

Voters head to polls in Catalonia amid political crisis

Instead, the election’s outcome favoured fugitive former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who campaigned from Belgium where he is evading a Spanish judicial probe into the attempt to split from Spain. The investigation could lead to charges of rebellion and sedition that carry penalties of decades in prison.

Mr Puigdemont, who got the most votes of any separatist candidate, greeted the results with delight and called them a rebuke to Spain’s central government.

“The Spanish state has been defeated,” Mr Puigdemont said. “Mariano Rajoy has received a slap in the face from Catalonia.”

In a televised appearance from Brussels, the 54-year-old former journalist did not make it clear if he would try to return home, where an arrest warrant awaits him.

The other main winner was Ines Arrimadas, the leading unionist candidate. Scoring 25% of the votes, her pro-business Ciutadans (Citizens) party won 37 seats, which will be the biggest single bloc in the 135-seat regional assembly.

“The pro-secession forces can never again claim they speak for all of Catalonia,” she said, promising her party will continue to oppose the separatists. “We are going to keep fighting for a peaceful co-existence, common sense and for a Catalonia for all Catalans.”

But pro-independence parties - Mr Puigdemont’s Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia), left-republican ERC and the anti-capitalist CUP - together won 70 seats, two above a majority but two less than in the previous parliament. The three groups fell short of winning a majority of votes, though, getting 48% of the total.

“The election has resolved very little,” said Andrew Dowling, a specialist in Catalan history at Cardiff University in Wales. “Independence has won but in a way similar to 2015 - majority of seats but not in votes.”

Mr Rajoy has said that taking over control of the region again would be something he would consider if independence is sought by a new Catalan government. Spain’s constitution bars secession.

Thursday’s election saw a record turnout of nearly 82% of the 5.5 million eligible voters in Catalonia.

The election was held under highly unusual circumstances, with several pro-independence leaders either jailed or in self-imposed exile for their roles in staging a banned independence referendum that was declared illegal by Spain’s highest court.

Eight of the absent politicians were elected. Unless their status changes, they will have to renounce their seats and pass them on to other party members or else the pro-independence bloc could be down a crucial share of votes.

Weeks of campaigning involved little debate about regional policy on issues such as public education, widening inequality and unemployment. At the heart of the battle instead was the recent independence push that led to Spain’s worst political crisis in decades.

Tensions have been high in Catalonia since a referendum on October 1 backed independence, when Spanish police used rubber bullets and batons against voters who tried to block them from removing ballots from polling stations. Separatist regional politicians made a unilateral declaration of independence October 27, prompting Spain’s national government to take the dramatic step of firing the regional government and dissolving the Catalan parliament.