Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez aiming to defeat separatists in Catalan vote | EUROtoday

Issued on: 12/05/2024 – 08:47

2 min

When the polls open at 9:00 am (0700 GMT), the rich northeastern area of some eight million folks will vote for 135 deputies to the Catalan parliament.

Opinion polls recommend Sanchez’s Socialists are forward of Puigdemont’s hardline separatist JxCat and its rival ERC, led by present regional chief Pere Aragones.

Polls shut at 8:00 pm with outcomes due out a number of hours later.

“We need a change on May 12, and only the Socialist Party and (its candidate) Salvador Illa can lead that… to move Catalonia forward in coexistence and social rights,” mentioned Sanchez in Barcelona on wrapping up the marketing campaign.

Since turning into premier in 2018, some 9 months after a failed Catalan separatist bid of October 2017, Sanchez has sought to “heal the wounds” attributable to the unprecedented political disaster.

In 2021, he pardoned the separatists jailed over the secession bid. In November he moved to advertise an amnesty invoice for these nonetheless needed by the justice system in change for key separatist backing in parliament that permit him safe a brand new four-year time period in workplace.

The invoice is within the Senate, resulting from go into legislation in coming weeks. This will permit the return of Puigdemont, 61, the Catalan separatist chief who oversaw the botched independence bid then fled to Belgium to keep away from prosecution.

The controversial measure has introduced the right-wing and far-right opposition to the streets in large protests, accusing Sanchez of letting himself be held “hostage” by the separatists to remain in energy.

High stakes

For Sanchez, seizing Catalonia from the separatists—who’ve dominated the area for a decade—could be a serious victory in his efforts to show the web page on the disaster sparked by the secession bid.

It would additionally permit him to press the restart button on his newest time period in workplace, which started in November.

So far, it has been soured by bitter right-wing opposition and a corruption probe into his spouse, which just about prompted his resignation final month.

Although the Socialists gained probably the most votes over the past regional election in February 2021, their candidate Illa didn’t piece collectively a governing majority. The separatist events clubbed collectively to kind a 74-seat coalition.

Despite lagging behind Illa within the polls, Puigdemont hopes for a powerful displaying within the vote so he can return residence triumphantly as Catalan regional chief as soon as the amnesty has turn out to be legislation.

“Let’s fill the ballot boxes with voting papers and start preparing for a new era,” mentioned Puigdemont wrapping up his personal marketing campaign within the southern French city of Elne.

Unable to enter Spain, the place he’s topic to an arrest warrant, he has been campaigning in southern France close to the border.

But the numbers don’t look good for the JxCat chief who has vowed to retire from politics if he fails to win.

The Catalan separatist motion is deeply divided now nevertheless, with JxCat sharply at odds with its extra reasonable rival ERC.

The image has been additional difficult by the emergence in current months of the ultranationalist Catalan Alliance which polls see successful a number of seats, though no different occasion would enter a pact with it.

Polls recommend the Socialists will win round 40 seats, that means they would wish help to succeed in the 68 required for a governing majority.

One attainable alliance would contain the far left and ERC, in what would seemingly trigger a dangerous implosion throughout the independence motion.

(AFP)