The National Pact for the Referendum convenes after Spain's 'no'

Barcelona (ACN).- The spokesman of the executive committee of the National Pact for the Referendum, Joan Ignasi Elena, said it is now up to political parties and institutions in Catalonia to decide the details of how and when to organize an independence referendum. The cross-party and civil society group is meeting on Tuesday evening to discuss its next steps after the Spanish government refused to negotiate such a vote. The National Pact for the Referendum collected half a million signatures in favor of the celebration of an independence referendum agreed to by both Madrid and Barcelona. 

Elena argued that the work of the executive committee that he is leading is complete and that political parties and civil society organizations should now be the ones taking the lead. "We cannot and we don't want to enter into the details" of how to organize the referendum, he insisted. The debate is now whether or not Catalans should go ahead with an independence vote unilaterally, in defiance of the Spanish government but following the mandate of the parliamentary majority in the Catalan Parliament.

The National Pact for the Referendum (PNR) includes political parties and organizations that share a commitment to a self-determination vote but not necessarily to independence itself. Polls suggest that up to 80% of Catalans are in favor of a referendum, something that the PNR exemplifies with its more than 3,000 members from civil society, business, cultural, sports and political organizations, including FC Barcelona. But with a new and resounding refusal from Madrid to negotiate a vote, tensions arise within its members on what to do next.

The biggest dispute is between the pro-independence parties Junts pel Sí and CUP, which are willing to go ahead with the self-determination vote as soon as possible, and the left-wing coalition Catalunya-En Comú, that is asking for more "democratic guarantees". Catalunya-En Comú spokeswoman, Elisenda Alamany, warned that the referendum will only be "legitimate" if it fulfills three conditions: that it wins the support of a large majority, that it wins international recognition and that it is "effective". "The debate is not whether or not it is unilateral," she said on Monday, but rather whether it meets these three criteria to become binding and fulfill "the people's wishes". The 'Comuns' have argued that they do not want a second symbolic referendum, such as the one organized back in 2014, something that the Catalan government has repeatedly said is not going to happen.