Ciutadans asks Spanish court to block MPs abroad voting

Ciutadans (C’s) has requested that Spain’s Constitutional Court block members of the Catalan parliament abroad being able to vote by proxy. The main unionist party in Catalonia expects the tribunal to take an “exceptionally urgent” measure in order to hamper the pro-independence majority in the chamber, and prevent a vote on the amendment of the presidency law on Friday—a move that could allow the deposed Catalan president Carles Puigdemont to retake his post from Germany.

There are currently seven Catalan leaders seeking refuge from the Spanish judiciary abroad. Two of them currently hold a seat in the chamber: the deposed minister Toni Comín, and Puigdemont himself. Pro-independence parties recently used their parliamentary majority to grant them the ability to vote by proxy, and they have already been able to cast their votes in previous sessions through a party colleague.

If the Constitutional Court accepts the petition by Friday morning, the two main pro-independence parties in Catalonia—Junts per Catalunya (JxCat) and Esquerra Republicana (ERC)—will be outnumbered by unionist parties. In order to have a majority, they will then need the votes of the far-left CUP party.

The Constitutional Court can normally only preemptively suspend measures when requested by the Spanish government. Ciutadans, though, argues that the tribunal should intervene, because the issue at stake “violates citizens’ fundamental right to participation in public affairs.”

Last January, Spain’s Constitutional Court ruled that Puigdemont could not be elected from abroad, and would first have to present himself before the Spanish judiciary and ask for permission in order to attend the parliament. The preemptive measures were issued after the Spanish government challenged Puigdemont’s candidacy in court.