Catalan President signs decree appointing members of consultation vote’s Control Commission

Barcelona (ACN).- On Thursday, the day after the Catalan Parliament elected the members of the electoral body that should control the correct development of consultation votes in Catalonia, including the 9th of November’s independence consultation, the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, signed the decree appointing the new members. Mas made this step the day before meeting with parties supporting November’s vote to reach an agreement on the new steps to be taken. Spain’s Constitutional Court temporarily suspended the law and the decree on which November’s vote is based. The suspended law was regulating the creation of this Control Commission but the Catalan Parliament’s legal services argued that its members could be elected, as it did not have a direct effect and did not challenge the Court’s suspension. With the decree, Mas ratified this election, but included an ambiguous formula regarding its validity; the Catalan President was signing the document “at the effect of the corresponding validity”, which leaves room for interpretation. The decree should be published tomorrow but it would enter into force the moment the Constitutional Court lifts the temporary suspension of the law on which it is based.

On Thursday, two of the four groups supporting November’s vote criticised the Catalan Government’s decision to temporarily suspend the institutional campaign informing citizens about the 9^th of November’s consultation vote on Catalonia’s political future, as well as the direct preparations for such a vote. This decision was taken on Tuesday, when the Constitutional Court’s temporary suspension was entering into force. This Thursday, the left-wing Catalan independence party ERC – which shares a parliamentary stability agreement with the governing centre-right pro-Catalan state coalition CiU – and the alternative left and radical independence party CUP, asked Mas to restore the direct preparations and the institutional campaign for November’s vote and criticised him for having suspended them without the agreement of the other parties backing this process.

Moreover, the Spanish Government has already asked its legal services to analyse whether Wednesday’s vote at the Catalan Parliament, for the election of the Control Commission, did or did not challenge the Constitutional Court’s temporary decision. The Catalan authorities believe that they can continue approving all the measures regarding November’s vote that do not require direct implementation, as the Court’s has not yet reached a definitive verdict. Furthermore, if at the end the verdict were issued before the vote and validated it, Catalans should have the right to hold the vote properly and on the day in question. The Spanish Government and Spanish nationalist parties have a different opinion and consider that absolutely all the steps relating to the temporarily suspended law and decree should be cancelled immediately.