Q&A on a decisive day in the Catalan Parliament

September 6 is the day when the long-expected clash of wills between Catalonia and Spain over the referendum on independence is set to begin. The Catalan Parliament’s plenary meets on Wednesday with a seemingly ordinary agenda. However, a twist is expected at some point that could inflame lawmakers and raise the whole political temperature in Catalonia and Spain to unseen levels. Feelings are already running high.

“My obligation is to respect the law or make the law be respected. We, the People’s Party, will preserve Spain’s unity and will guarantee respect for the Constitution,” said the Spanish president, Mariano Rajoy, on Monday. “A coup can never be carried out with ballot boxes. On the contrary, it would be a coup d’état to ban them,” retorted his Catalan counterpart, Carles Puigdemont, some hours later. Wednesday is set to be an intense day in Catalan politics, yet how the events will unfold is not entirely clear.

Why is tomorrow’s plenary session in Parliament so crucial?

The pro-independence parties have written a referendum law but have strategically hidden it from view in order to avoid a Spanish ban during the parliamentary proceedings, and therefore be able to approve the legislation. Time until the October 1 referendum is running short and tomorrow is the day legislators have chosen to pass the law.

Is it legal to pass this bill?

The aim of those in favor of a Catalan state is to fast-track passage of the bill. Article 81.3 of the chamber's regulation states that "the plenary's order of the day can be altered at the request of the president, or two parliamentary groups… If new business is to be included, it will have to have fulfilled all the reglementary proceedings, unless an absolute majority agrees on the contrary." The pro-independence forces have the absolute majority, and some MPs from a far-left coalition including Podemos are also considering supporting the bill. A second alternative is for the government to pass a decree-law with the same content.

However, the leader of the opposition, Inés Arrimadas, said on Tuesday that passing the bill in one day will mean “breaking the way [the chamber] functions”. For her, the referendum law is “an attack on parliamentary procedures”.