Former president Puigdemont to run in European election
From exile in Belgium, he will head Junts per Catalunya ticket and face his former vice president Junqueras, who will top ERC's candidacy
The former Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, will run in the European election for MEP in the May 26 election.
Puigdemont will top the pro-independence Junts per Catalunya candidacy, while his former vice president, Oriol Junqueras, will head the Esquerra Republicana ticket.
The former head of the Catalan government, who is in exile in Belgium since October 2017, commented on it through his social media accounts after some party members announced it in a press conference.
"It is time to make another step to internationalize Catalonia's right of self-determination from the heart of Europe to the world," he tweeted.
És el moment de fer un pas més per internacionalitzar el dret a l'autodeterminació de Catalunya des del cor d'Europa per a tot el món. pic.twitter.com/6vmwF4Ehsq
— Carles Puigdemont (@KRLS) March 10, 2019
Will Puigdemont and Junqueras be able to become MEPs?
It remains unclear whether either Puigdemont or Junqueras will be able to take office as MEPs in case they are elected. Both of them face a temporary suspension as MPs in the Catalan parliament.
Spain's Supreme Court enforced in July 2018 an article of the criminal code enabling for individuals facing rebellion charges and a prison warrant to be temporarily suspended from public office until the verdict on their cases is out.