President Mas: “It’s time to accept the victory of Catalonia. The victory of yes”

Barcelona (CNA).- Pro-independence unitary list ‘Junts Pel Sí’ has won the 27-S Catalan Elections and obtained 62 MPs. Together with far-left pro-independence CUP, which secured 10 members of parliament, they have an overall majority of 72 MPs in the 135-seats Catalan Parliament. President Mas, who ran fourth on the list, highlighted the plebiscitary nature of the elections and demanded “respect” for “the victory of Catalonia, the victory of yes”. “Today, pro-independence has won before the eyes of our society and before the eyes of the world” stated number five on the list, left-wing ERC leader Oriol Junqueras. “Who can say that we are not legitimate?” asked the ‘Junts Pel Sí’ list’s lead candidate Raül Romeva, and added that now “the dike has broken”.

The results of these historic elections, with a record participation of 77%, showed a 49% support to Catalonia’s independence, a 39% against an 11% of voters who don’t support independence but openly express the need to change the relationship with Spain and allow Catalans to decide their political future.

‘Junts Pel Sí’ (‘Together For Yes’) obtained 1,611,083 votes, which means 62MPs and 39.6% of vote. The second most voted party in the Catalan Parliament was anti-independence Ciutadans, which got 727,200 votes, 17.89 % of votes and secured 25 seats. Ciutadans experienced the highest growth in the Catalan chamber. The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), achieved 16 MPs and 515,899 votes, which is 12.6% of votes . Left-wing coalition ‘Catalunya Sí que es Pot’, which includes Podemos, was fourth with 11 seats and 361,806 votes, which represented 8.9% of the total. The ruling party in the Spanish government, the Conservative PP, achieved only 11 seats and 344,916 votes, 8.4% of votes. The Christian Democrats from Unió didn’t achieve any representation, although they obtained 333,849 votes, 8.2% of the total.

President Mas: “We will honour this democratic mandate”

“We will honour this democratic mandate and manage this victory with cohesion within Catalonia and with concord and respect regarding Spain, the EU and the world” stated President Mas, and added “we have a lot of work to do ahead”. “It is clear that people wanted to vote” he stated “now we ask those who wanted us to accept defeat, to accept the victory of Catalonia, the victory of yes”

Junqueras: “We are writing the most glorious pages of our history”

“Today yes has won. In votes and also in seats” stated number five on the list, left-wing ERC leader Oriol Junqueras. “We have been working for years to get a democratic mandate” he said, and added that “in the following weeks we will have to put the basis in order to make possible this independent state, in which we have believed and for which we have worked so hard”. “We are writing the most glorious pages of our history” he stated “tonight with a smile and from tomorrow onwards with a big responsibility”.

Romeva: “The dike has broken”

“Nobody can say that we are not legitimate” warned former MEP and number one on the ‘Junts Pel Sí’ list Raül Romeva. He emphasised that ‘Junts Pel Sí’’s victory has been possible despite the “hostile” context, an electoral campaign “full of lies”. “Everybody understood that this was the time” he stated, and offered his hand to those “who are not on the yes list but whom we want to be”. “There is no other choice” he declared “the dike has broken”.

Ciutadans: “President Mas has to resign”

Anti-Catalan nationalism party Ciutadans obtained 17.8% of the votes and experienced the highest growth in the number of representatives elected to the Catalan Parliament. “The majority of Catalans have turned their backs on Artur Mas” stated Ciutadans’ candidate Inés Arrimadas and demanded his resignation. Arrimadas also called for new elections to be held shortly which would be “really autonomous”. She also promised to those who “legitimately” voted for independence that she will work to solve “their problems”.

“A total success” for PSC

The candidate for Catalan Socialist Party PSC, Miquel Iceta, considered the results of the elections "a total success". With 16 seats, the PSC lost four representatives in Parliament, but avoids the fall that many of the surveys predicted and will be the third-largest force in the Catalan chamber. "I think the campaign we carried out enabled us to overcome a situation that many had described as the end", reflected Iceta. The first secretary of the PSC congratulated ‘Junts pel Sí’, but stressed that there has not been a majority in favour of Catalan independence and that those "who regarded the election as a plebiscite" have not obtained 50% of the votes.

'Catalunya Sí que es pot': "We couldn't get through it"

“Our roadmap was focused on the social field” stated ‘Catalunya Sí que es Pot’ candidate Lluís Rabell and added that although they tried to put aside the independence debate, they “couldn’t get through it”. Rabell admitted that their results were not “the expected” and added that his candidacy “didn’t achieve” their goal, mainly because of the “extremely polarised situation”.

PPC is not satisfied

“I’m not satisfied” admitted candidate for the conservative People's Party PPC, Xavier García Albiol, to which he added “this is not what we expected”. However, he highlighted that their 11 MPs are more than what the polls attributed to the PP. Albiol considers pro-independence forces and especially Artur Mas and ‘Junts pel Sí’ to have "failed" because their result "does not allow them” to carry out their “disruptive” plans. He remarked that PP is “100% committed” to defending those who feel “both Catalan and Spanish” and was confident that his party will prove to be “the alternative”.

CUP: “Artur Mas is not indispensable”

“From tomorrow on, we are the ones who rule ourselves” stated Radical left and pro-independence CUP’s candidate Antonio Baños, and emphasised that the 27-S elections results must have consequences “already tomorrow”. He insisted on “disobeying immediately” the Spanish legality and stated that the election results certify the “death of the autonomous system and the birth of the Catalan Republic”. Number two on the party’s list Anna Gabriel warned that “everybody is necessary” and addressed Artur Mas to tell him that he wasn’t “indispensable”.

Unió:  “We lost the elections”

Christian Democrat Unió, the smaller party within the former coalition CiU, won’t have any representation in the Catalan Parliament. Unió’s president, Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida, admitted the party “lost the elections” but said that they “don’t regret anything”, referring to their recent split from CiU. “Unió continues and will continue” he stated and forecast that it will be “a clear option” for the upcoming Spanish elections.