Electoral campaign kicks off with candidates in prison and exile

A very atypical election campaign in Catalonia started this Tuesday at midnight. Seven parties are expected to get seats in the Catalan Parliament in a vote that follows three months of high tension. A referendum on independence, the Spanish police violence to stop it, the declaration of independence, the enforcement of the Spanish Constitution article to enforce direct rule of Catalonia, the call of election from Madrid for the first time, the imprisonment of half of the Catalan government, the exile of the other half, and several demonstrations in favor of both sides have made this autumn exceptional.

And after so much intensity, it is time for voters to have their say. These ongoing developments are set to have an impact on the campaign, as the kick-off events of parties have reflected.

Puigdemont’s candidacy (JxCat): ‘We’ll vote with the October 1 in mind”

One of the candidacies running is Together for Catalonia (JxCAT), headed by Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, currently in Brussels. It supports independence and, among others, this ticket includes imprisoned civil society leader Jordi Sànchez as second on the list, along with the recently freed ministers Josep Rull, Jordi Turull, and Joaquim Forn. In the kick-off event, Puigdemont took part via video to remember the referendum day and the violence displayed by the Spanish police that day.

Jailed Junqueras’ party (ERC) willing to win election to “win freedom”

Also on the side of pro-independence are Esquerra Republicana (ERC), headed by jailed minister Oriol Junqueras, and the also freed on Monday Dolors Bassa and Raül Romeva. The ticket includes the president of Parliament Carme Forcadell (out on €150,000 bond). Catalan Justice minister, also deposed by the Spanish government and freed on Monday, attended the kick-off event few hours later and was hugged by a number of party officials. “Oriol [Junqueras] told me that you can’t rest not even a second to reach freedom and to win the election,” he said. “By winning on December 21, we will also win the freedom of the ones far from home and in prison,” Mundó added.

Far-left pro-independence ticket (CUP) refers to Spain’s measures as “coup d’etat”

The third large party to share an objective of pro-independence is the far-left CUP. Although the CUP voted in favor of running in the elections alone, and not on a joint candidacy with other pro-independence parties, they share in the objective of majority in order to pursue independence plans. The ticket leader, Carles Riera, urged to “revert the coup d’etat and restore democracy” in the first event of their campaign.