Catalan parliament to reject suspension of pro-independence MPs

The Catalan parliament will vote to reject a resolution from Spain’s Supreme Court ordering the suspension of former president Carles Puigdemont and other members of parliament accused of rebellion.

In the first plenary session since the summer break, pro-independence parties put forward a motion against the suspension of the six prosecuted MPs, and will designate some party colleagues to vote on their behalf.

The motion will be approved with the votes of Junts Per Catalunya (JxCat) and Esquerra (ERC), the two pro-independence parties ruling Catalonia, as well as Catalunya En Comú-Podem (CatECP), a left-wing coalition that is neither for nor against independence.

Support from CatECP will grant the two government parties enough votes to pass the resolution—even while CUP, a far-left pro-independence party, is against substituting the prosecuted MPs.

Unionists reject the proposal

Unionists parties rejected the proposal, arguing that the Catalan parliament is not entitled to decide whether to implement court orders or not.

They also criticized the fact that the parliament speaker, Roger Torrent, allowed both sections of the motion to be voted separately, as they considered them to be "contradictory".