What parties are running in the election?

There are seven parties expected to get seats in the Catalan parliament on December 21. Three are pro-independence, three are unionist, and one sits squarely in between blocs. The three pro-independence parties are Together for Catalonia (JxCat) headed by deposed Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, Esquerra Republicana (ERC) led by incarcerated vice president Oriol Junqueras, and CUP with Carles Riera number one on the ticket. ERC and the party that Together for Catalonia is based on have been ruling the Catalan government with CUP’s support for the past two years.

Meanwhile, the three unionist parties are the People’s Party (PP) led by Xavier García Albiol, Ciutadans (Cs) headed by Inés Arrimadas, and the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) with Miquel Iceta at the helm. These three parties not only support the unity of Spain, they also all voted to implement Article 155 to seize Catalonia’s self-government.

At the same time, the one party which has refused to stand with either bloc, Catalonia in Common (CeC), is in favour of an agreed referendum but against both unilateral independence and Spain’s measures to stop it.

ERC, the oldest pro-independence party

Esquerra Republicana (ERC) is left-wing and pro-independence. Despite its main candidate, Oriol Junqueras, currently being jailed in Madrid, ERC holds the lead in the polls, even though Ciutadans and Together for Catalonia are catching up. In the 2015 election, ERC joined in the pro-independence Junts pel Sí coalition, including president Carles Puigdemont’s party. The Esquerra has a long history of pushing for a Catalan state.

Together for Catalonia: bringing back President Puigdemont

Together for Catalonia (JxCat) is a pro-independence ticket encompassing president Carles Puigdemont’s PDeCAT party and independent candidates. Its leader, Carles Puigdemont, campaigned from Brussels, where he remains after the Spanish government dismissed him following a declaration of independence on October 27. In the campaign, they made the case for electing Puigdemont as president once again.

CUP, the alternative pro-independence party

The CUP is a far-left candidacy that is very strongly in favour of a Catalan Republic based on social, anti-capitalist and feminist ideologies. As it was in the past, the party might once again prove to be key in ensuring a pro-independence majority in the Catalan parliament. Contrary to other political parties, it is assembly-based. The CUP has vowed to only support a government committed to Building a new state.

Ciutadans: Catalonia’s anti-independence champions

Ciutadans (Cs) is the main unionist party in Catalonia and one of the most severe critics of the pro-independence movement. C’s also backed all the Spanish state’s measures to trump independence plans. In the 2015 election, the party came second and its leader in Catalonia, Inés Arrimadas, became the Head of the Opposition in the Catalan Parliament. According to the polls, Cs is a candidate for the victory in the election.

PSC: the conciliatory unionist approach

The Socialist party (PSC) is social democratic-leaning and has positioned itself as unionist, even if it’s the only left-wing party to be so. Indeed, it voted for the enforcement of Article 155, Spain’s measure to seize Catalonia’s autonomy in order to counter the push for independence. In the campaign, the Socialists had a conciliatory approach despite rejecting the Catalan state. In the past, the PSC has been the strongest in smaller towns in the Barcelona metro area.

People’s Party, the hardline anti-independence ticket

The People’s Party in Catalonia (PPC), as Spain’s ruling party, is the leader in the anti-independence movement. In fact, the campaign strategy of its top candidate, Xavier García Albiol, has been to appear as the most hard-line activist against Catalan sovereignty. In Spain, the ruling PP has been the most voted party in Spain for three elections in a row. However, the PPC has never been part of the Catalan government, garnering 8% of the ballots in the last election.

Catalonia in Common: in between blocs

Catalonia in Common (CeC) is between the pro-independence and the unionist blocs, as it has refused to position itself in one camp or the other. It’s a party that includes groups belonging in the left-wing, including that of Barcelona’s mayor. If no one party gets the majority, the support of CeC could be key after the election, although during the campaign its candidates showed reticence in tipping the scales.