Only a fraction of Catalans living abroad will vote on February 14

Over 5 million Catalans over the age of 18 have been called to the polls on Sunday to elect their representatives following a tumultuous year in both politics and beyond.

But while those who live in Catalonia only have to be officially listed in their council's resident register (or 'padró'), granting them access to local public services including health, those who live abroad encounter far greater challenges when it comes to voting.

Toni Montserrat, a member of the International Federation of Catalan Associations (FIEC), attributes these difficulties to three main factors he calls "the perfect storm": the pandemic, having to actively register to vote from abroad, and "confusion" regarding the date of an election that was delayed but then overruled by a court.

Of the 255,087 Catalans who are permanent residents of foreign countries, only 15,509 were able to register in time for the February 14 election. This means that around 95% of them will not have a say on Sunday—a figure that is likely to end up being even higher when considering those who registered but did not receive their mail-in ballots in time.

"I haven't received my ballot, nor has my wife," laments Ramon Barceló, who lives in Brussels, despite having registered to vote from abroad within the established timeframe. "We feel cheated, our fundamental right to vote has been violated."

Covid-19 and a potential postponement aside, this is not the first time mail-in ballots are not received in time—a common complaint of citizens abroad every time there is a Spanish or Catalan election—although turnout is still projected to be lower than usual: if almost 12% voted in the December 2017 election, half as many people or fewer are expected to cast their ballots on Sunday.