Catalan President "is cheating everybody" with November 9's consultation, states main pro-unity association

Barcelona (ACN).- Joanquim Coll, Vice President of Societat Civil Catalana – which is the main pro-Spanish unity civil society organisation in Catalonia – accused the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, of "cheating everybody" with "this so-called participatory process" scheduled on November 9. In an interview with CNA, Coll foresaw "a great frustration for those Catalans who believed in Artur Mas' promise of being able to vote on November 9". In addition, he argued that "for the wide majority of citizens", November 9 "will not represent anything since the majority of Catalans neither wanted to participate in the first consultation vote, nor in this so-called participatory process". The unionist spokesperson hoped that "before the 9th […] the rule of law and the principle of democracy must prevail", referring to the Constitutional Court's suspension of the participatory process after the Spanish Government's appeal. However, "after the 10th, [we need] dialogue, dialogue and more dialogue", he concluded.

The Vice President of Societat Civil Catalana (SCC) criticised the Catalan Government for "acting de facto" and "asking about things it cannot do", referring to the alternative participatory process that replaces the original consultation vote on the 9^th of November. Coll also emphasised the problem of a government that "does not respect a resolution of the Constitutional Court, that is looking for ways not to honour the law and, when it is not able to do it, puts the matter in the hands of high-school directors, mayors, town hall secretaries and NGOs".

Catalan President is fooling everybody with November 9

Accordign to him, the Catalan Government "is prostituting the name of the 'participatory process'" that Catalan Law describes by "making a fraudulent use" of it and by "squandering" public money. Coll argued that the Catalan President has created this alternative process "to gain some time" and "to say that he has finally organised the consultation vote despite all the judicial obstacles". According to him, Mas "has no intention" to call early elections of the Catalan Parliament, as many parties are requesting, and he "is cheating everybody" with November 9's vote. "He is trying to cheat the State, ERC [the left-wing Catalan independence party that shared a parliamentary stability agreement with Mas], his own supporters, everybody". "He is a desperate president", the SCC spokesperson added.

Against plebiscitary elections

In addition, Coll argued that "so-called plebiscitary elections do not exist in a democracy". According to him, this concept "is part of the language invented by pro-self-determination supporters, such as 'the right to decide', playing with words that do not have an equivalent at international level". Finally, he concluded that the organisation of plebiscitary elections would be "a very negative scenario […] because it would mean putting Catalan society in a situation of maximum tension", having to choose between parties that "only run with a single electoral promise" and others that run with many. "It would be trying to resolve through a single way what is not possible to resolve", he concluded.

For the unionist spokesperson, Mas should end his term in office, which should finish in November 2016, and look for another parliamentary ally instead of the ERC. "It is better that he brings stability and opens a path for dialogue and understanding", Coll emphasised. However, he also recognised that the Catalan President "has gone so far with his promises and stubbornness that it is difficult to know with whom he would be able to reach an agreement".