Puigdemont’s candidacy presents initiative to swear him in remotely
Junts per Catalunya registers a proposal to amend a law on its own, despite being in talks with other pro-independence forces
Carles Puigdemont’s candidacy, Junts per Catalunya, registered a proposal in the Catalan parliament this Friday evening, to enable him being sworn in from Brussels. The initiative includes amending the Presidency Bill to explicitly accept an MP being chosen as Catalan leader remotely, if they cannot turn up in Parliament, where the investiture debate would take place. Puigdemont has an arrest warrant on Spanish soil, so he would very likely be arrested and jailed if he tried to attend the Catalan chamber for the session.
Junts per Catalunya registered this proposal on its own, despite being in talks with the other two pro-independence parties to seek an agreed formula to work it out. Esquerra, its main ally, showed some doubts over a move that might also end up blocked by the Spanish authorities.
The deposed Catalan president is still the only nominated MP for presidency bill, but Madrid is also still challenging it. The Spanish government is against any of the formulas the pro-independence parties are considering to reinstate Puigdemont, as its spokesman made clear on Friday. The Constitutional Court will make a final decision over the legality of his nomination in the coming days.