A guide to the Catalan Parliament's opening session (and what comes next)

Q&A on the new term set to start on Wednesday, with the appointment of new chamber bureau and president of government unresolved 

Plenary session at the Catalan Parliament on September 7
Plenary session at the Catalan Parliament on September 7 / ACN

ACN | Barcelona

January 16, 2018 12:16 PM

The pro-independence parties won in the December 21 election. With this new majority in the Catalan parliament, under ordinary circumstances, this would mean a new president of the chamber taking office within weeks, and short negotiations among parties to appoint a new Catalan president and government. On January 17, the new term officially starts in the Catalan parliament, a date unprecedentedly set by the Spanish president, Mariano Rajoy. Its constitutive session is expected to appoint a new president and bureau for the chamber. Yet this is not going to be that straightforward for the parties in favour of a Catalan state.

Why will it not be that easy for pro-independence parties to appoint a new Parliament president despite having the majority of MPs?

While the pro-independence parties won control in the parliament with their new majority, some of their MPs will have to make some move. They got 70 out of 135 seats in the election, with the majority at 68. Yet three elected MPs have been in jail for months, including the vice president of the deposed Catalan government, Oriol Junqueras. 
What’s more, five more members of the dismissed executive are in Brussels, and all of them are elected MPs, including President Puigdemont. If they return to Catalonia, they are very likely to be arrested and jailed, The Spanish Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant for all of them, charging them with crimes carrying up to 30 years in prison after the declaration of independence. If none of them can turn up on January 17, the pro-independence forces would go down to 62, with the rest of the parties having 65 MPs.

Will the elected MPs in prison and in Belgium be able to vote?

If Together for Catalonia, Esquerra Republicana (ERC) and the CUP don’t want to risk losing the control of the chamber, they depend on their MPs in exile or in prison being able to vote. Two elected representatives held in custody testified at the Spanish Supreme Court last week. Yet there is little chance that they will be freed or given permission in time for the January 17 debate. 

Last week, a Supreme Court judge dismissed Junqueras' appeal to attend the opening session, but opened the door to allowing Junqueras to vote through a representative. The same could apply to other MPs who won't be able to attend the sessions in person. All of them are determined to take office as MPs, but will they be able to vote? The Supreme Court judge said that it is up to the Parliament bureau to decide both the technicalities of the voting procedure and also if voting through a representative should be allowed in the first place. But this was only referring to the MPs in prison.

An interim bureau will be formed only for the Wednesday session, encompassing the oldest and the two youngest MPs of the new chamber. All three are ERC members, and the vote by proxy will be on their table.  

Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras and president Carles Puigdemont, now both deposed by the Spanish government, with the former in precautionary jail and the second in exile in Belgium on October 26 2017 in the Catalan parliament (by Pere Francesch)

Who will be the next Catalan Parliament president?

If the pro-independence parties manage to have more than 65 MPs in the parliament on January 17, the presidency of the chamber will be theirs. But who will be the person appointed for the post? Carme Forcadell was in office for the past term, but she announced last week that she is leaving her post. She played a key role over the past few months, allowing debates over independence in the chamber and even accepting a vote declaring the Catalan Republic on October 27. Because of that, she is now being investigated by the Spanish justice system, charged with rebellion, facing up to 30 years in prison. Having been detained, she was then freed on a €150,000-bail after spending one night in prison. Forcadell's most likely successor is Ernest Maragall, a former member of the European Parliament.

How is a new Catalan president appointed?

Once the parliament bureau is formed, it is then time for a new Catalan president to be appointed. The investiture debate is expected on January 31, with the first vote on a new president set for the following day. If the candidate does not get an absolute majority, a successive vote is held two days later. If the same candidate does not get at least a simple majority this time, the Parliament has two months to agree on a candidate. In the event that MPs fail to find one within this deadline, a snap election is automatically called for around the end of May.  

Will Carles Puigdemont be able to be president again?

The candidate for the pro-independence forces is Carles Puigdemont, as leader of the party for a Catalan state with the most votes. But he is in Brussels, and he will also be arrested and probably jailed as soon as he returns to Catalonia. He pledged to return if he was to be appointed president “risking” being arrested, as he said in the electoral campaign. However, he has not made his intentions on becoming president any clearer. Will he return? Will he try to be appointed remotely from Brussels? On Monday, Parliament lawyers issued a non-binding report stating that regulations do not allow the swearing-in of the Catalan president at a distance. His candidacy, Together for Catalonia claims there is no alternative but appointing Puigdemont as president once more.