Ruling allowing Puigdemont to stand in European election a 'disgrace,' says unionist party

It is a "disgrace" that Carles Puigdemont will be allowed to stand in the European elections, the spokeswoman for the unionist Ciutadans party (Cs), Inés Arrimadas, said on Monday.

"We are such democrats that we respect judicial rulings," added Arrimadas, after a court ruled in favor of the former president and two ex-ministers, Antoni Comín and Clara Ponsatí.

Yet, the Cs spokeswoman did not rule out the party appealing the ruling, as the also-unionist People's Party (PP) has announced it intends to do.

Puigdemont, Comín and Ponsatí were barred from running in the election on May 26 by Spain's electoral authority, but their appeal against the decision was upheld in court.

In fact, the electoral authority's decision last week to bar the prospective candidates was the result of objections put forward by the Cs and PP parties.

"Onward," urges president Torra

President Quim Torra congratulated the former ministers, now in exile after leaving Catalonia following the failed independence bid in 2017, urging them in a tweet to continue "onward."

The pro-independence Esquerra party (ERC) also celebrated the court ruling, with spokeswoman Marta Vilalta saying "justice has been done."

As for Puigdemont, on Twitter he praised the work of his lawyers, saying "there is really good legal work behind each victory achieved."

Meanwhile, Jaume Collboni of the Catalan Socialists (PSC) said the court ruling showed "the fallacy built up over recent months that we are not living in a democratic state to be false."