Junts general secretary and former jailed pro-indy activist to step down

The general secretary of Junts per Catalunya, Jordi Sànchez, announced on Saturday he will not seek re-election to his post at the pro-independence party's next conference.

Revealing his surprise decision at the party's National Council in Alcarràs in western Catalonia, Sànchez said "today's times require a different way of working."

He expressed his wish to gathered party members that "a single candidate" be chosen to replace him, someone who meets the demands of "the party as a whole, its plurality and the richness of what Junts per Catalunya represents."

Sànchez is a former leader of the grassroots independence group ANC who served 3 years and 8 months in prison for his role in the 2017 independence push. He was released in June 2021, one of nine independence leaders pardoned by the Spanish government.

Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia), the party of the exiled former president Carles Puigdemont, is part of Catalonia's governing coalition, along with Esquerra Republicana.

Sànchez also revealed that the next party congress, where his successor will be chosen, will take place in the first two weeks of June in Northern Catalonia, the Catalan part of France, which would enable Puigdemont and other exiled party members to attend.