People's Party opens door to banning political parties' electoral programs that favor independence

The People's Party (PP), the ruling political party in Spain, opened the door on Monday to banning political parties' electoral programs that favor independence, saying they seek to "destroy Spain".

In comments to the press, the PP leader in Catalonia, Xavier García Albiol, said that if new elections are called, political platforms that advocate for an independent Catalonia should not be allowed to run.

"I hope that if someone has the temptation to say that if they win an election they will declare the Republic, the rule of law will act and won't allow anyone to run on a platform that seeks to destroy Spain," García Albiol said.

The leader of the PP in Catalonia added that political platforms should be "based on legality", and said that his proposal is not "rare" as other countries such as France or Germany would not allow this either.

García-Albiol is not the first conservative politician to suggest banning pro-independence parties. The spokesman of the People's Party in Spain, Pablo Casado, also hinted the possibility of using the 'Parties Law' –drafted in Spain during the terrorist conflict in the Basque Country- to ban the three main pro-independence parties in Catalonia, which represent an overall majority in the Catalan Parliament.