Junqueras accused of blocking harassment protocols amid Esquerra leadership race

A few days before the leadership race in the pro-independence party Esquerra Republicana (ERC) concludes, one of the two candidates, Oriol Junqueras, has been hit with serious allegations.

The former party leader is accused of having instructed officials in 2019 to avoid activating sexual harassment protocols within the Catalan government's foreign ministry.

This decision reportedly aimed to prevent the civil service, controlled at the time by the pro-independence party Junts, from becoming aware of the case.

The revelation, published by the Catalan News Agency (ACN) on Tuesday, is based on allegations made by Alfred Bosch, who served as foreign minister during the incident, and corroborated by multiple sources involved in the case.

Bosch claims that Junqueras directed him to forego the official protocols and instead conduct a "discreet, informal, and irregular" inquiry into the matter.

According to ACN, Bosch wanted to activate the protocols but ultimately followed Junqueras' instructions, allegedly given during meetings in December 2019 at Lledoners prison, where Junqueras was serving a sentence for his role in organizing the 2017 independence referendum.

In response to the report, Junqueras denounced on X (formerly Twitter) a "dirty game" against him amid the ongoing leadership race of the party. He accused his opponents of a smear campaign.

"A campaign, unfortunately, full of attacks, rumors without proof, filtrations and slander," he said.

The controversy arises during a critical internal party election. In the first round of voting held two weeks ago, Junqueras emerged as the leading candidate but failed to secure the required 50% majority.

A runoff vote is scheduled for this Sunday, where Junqueras will face Xavier Godàs. The winner will assume leadership of ERC.