Junqueras can be president from prison, party's report says
Procedures to become MP can be carried out by representatives, according to an academic paper
The top candidate of Esquerra Republicana, Oriol Junqueras, who is currently in jail in the region of Madrid, would be able to take office as Catalan president even though he is incarcerated, according to a report ordered by his party and written by professor Joan Vintró.
According to the report published on Monday, pre-trial prison does not prevent anyone from taking office as a Member of Parliament. "The law only prevents convicted people from being MPs, and Junqueras has not been convicted" says the report. Junqueras, who is also vice president of the deposed Catalan government, has not been brought to trial yet and is in prison as a precautionary measure.
In addition, if the law allows him to become a Member of the Catalan Parliament, "it also has to allow the consequences that being an MP might involve, such as being elected president by the Catalan Parliament," says the report. Indeed, professor Vintró says that this argument is taken from other similar judicial decisions.