27-s

The figure is almost 7 points higher than it was at the same hour, 18.00 (CET), on the day of the 2012 elections and it has grown in the four regions in Catalonia, according to official data published by the Catalan Government. The region with the highest rate of participation so far is still Girona, with more than 65.3% and the least Lleida with 61%. The participation in Barcelona is 63.2% and in Tarragona is 61,8%, with the highest growth; more than 8 points higher than in 2012. 

The figure is 5.7% higher than it was at the same hour, 13.00 (CET), on the day of the 2012 elections, according to official data published by the Catalan Government. The region with the highest rate of participation so far is Girona, with more than 38%, followed by the Tarragona region with 35.53%, Barcelona with 34.7% and Lleida with 33.8%. The regions which have registered the highest increase in participation so far, compared to the 2012 elections, are Tarragona and Lleida, with a rise of 7.3%.

More than 5.5 million Catalans are entitled to vote this Sunday in the 27-S elections, which have repeatedly  being described as the most important since democracy was restored in Spain. 2,681 polling stations have set up around Catalonia and citizens will be able to cast their vote from 9am until 8pm this evening. "The Election Day started without any remarkable incident” stated the Catalan Minister for Public Administration, Meritxell Borràs and added that the queues at some polling stations were due to “the interest that this elections have awaken”. 5,510,798 people are entitled to vote in Catalonia, 4,124,321 of which will do so in Barcelona region, 800,962 in Tarragona, 756,156 in Girona and 438,000 in Lleida.

The number of lists running for the 27-S Catalan elections is lower than the last time around in 2012; dropping from 79 candidacies to the 40 lists running this year. Moreover, there are many new candidacies that have been designed for the occasion according to the historic nature of the elections that will function as a ‘de facto’ plebiscite on independence. For the first time ever, new coalitions have been made and civil society organisations have entered the fray.

Only 7% of the 200,000 Catalans living abroad voted in the 2012 Catalan elections and the figure isn’t likely to increase much in the upcoming 27-S elections. Spain’s Electoral Roll Office ignored the Catalan Government’s request to extend the postal vote for those living outside of Catalonia, with the Spanish body only extending it for those who lived in other parts of Spain, not overseas. With just a few days left before Election Day and amidst complaints of ballots arriving too late, confusing processes and the new ‘requested vote’ system seem to have deprived many voters abroad of their right to decide. 

Not only parties have taken an active role in this intensive electoral campaign: the banking sector, Spanish diplomacy, the European institutions, international leaders, businesspeople associations and even the sports and scientific fields have had their say. Some have softened their warnings, some have signed joint letters, but all of them have reinforced the historic element of the upcoming 27-S elections. Whatever the situation may be, what is certain is that the moment is exceptional and that the elections are being closely watched internationally.

Christian-Democrat Unió, the smaller party within the former governing coalition CiU, claims to be the alternative to the extreme positions that “have taken over Catalan politics”. “We regret that this campaign has been based on two extreme positions: the status quo and a breakaway” stated Unió’s Secretary General and now candidate for President in the upcoming 27-S elections, Ramon Espadaler. “We believe there’s a central position and that is reforming Spain’s Constitution” he said at a press conference at CNA headquarters. Unió’s differences with liberal party CDC regarding Catalonia’s push for independence caused the definitive separation of CiU after a 37-year alliance. “Now the party has its own voice” he emphasised. 

The cross-party ‘Junts Pel Sí’ (‘Together for Yes’) is a unitary list which gathers together, for the first time in history, members of Catalan civil society, such as the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Òmnium Cultural, and politicians from different ideological backgrounds that support independence. “What we are doing here is very strange but we are going through a very strange moment, extraordinary”, stated former Member of the European Parliament Raül Romeva, who tops the unitary list. “We have tried everything” to hold a self-determination vote, but using the parliamentary elections “is the last resort”, stated Catalan President Artur Mas, who comes fourth on the list.Their plan is to declare independence within 18 months of the 27-S elections “if the majority is there”, which many polls forecast it will be. “This is for real, we are ready to do it” stated Romeva and added that they are “aware of the risks but also very aware of the enormous opportunities”. 

Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation José Manuel García-Margallo stated this Wednesday that Catalans would not be able to maintain their Spanish nationality or European citizenship in the case of independence. “Catalan people cannot expect to maintain certain attributes and not others” he insisted. Margallo called the Catalans’ idea some sort of “joke” and cited Latin American countries’ independence from Spain and Algeria’s independence as examples. He made such statement after Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, failed to defend the idea that Catalans will lose Spanish nationality (because the Spanish Constitution allows them to keep it as they are Spanish by origin). Referring to this, Catalan President Artur Mas stated that “Spain’s threats turn against them like a boomerang”.

Anti-Catalan nationalism Ciutadans (C’s) is the youngest party with representation in the Catalan parliament. Founded in 2006, their support has increased dramatically in every election and most of the polls forecast that they will be the second force in the upcoming 27-S elections. Their position regarding Catalonia’s independence is open opposition and they call for reform of the Spanish Constitution. “I’ll do everything in my hands to avoid Catalonia’s independence” assured C’s candidate Inés Arrimadas at a press conference held this Tuesday at CNA headquarters. “We don’t want to think of the reactions to a hypothetical victory of pro-independence forces. We want to beat them, we want to win the Catalan elections” she stated. According to Arrimadas, Ciutadans is the only party which understands the real problems of the citizens “and independence is not a priority for them”. “We focus on the services, not on the institutions” she added.  

The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), the Catalan branch of Spanish Socialist Party PSOE is against Catalonia’s independence. “I hope and I wish that pro-independence forces won’t get an absolute majority in the upcoming elections” stated Miquel Iceta, a consolidated member of PSC whom has been chosen to run for President in the upcoming 27-S elections. Iceta has come in for the previous candidate, Pere Navarro, whom got the worst result for PSC in any Catalan elections; only 20 seats from the 135 which compose the Catalan Parliament. PSC’s support in Catalonia has decreased dramatically since 2006 and the party has faced many crises and changes in its leadership, both in Catalonia and in Spain. Many parties have attributed this decline to the lack of independence of the PSC and have claimed that their policies are directed by their mother party PSOE.

The Catalan government admitted to being “very surprised” with the Electoral Roll Office’s decision, which it described as “contradictory”. The Spanish body agreed this Thursday to extend the postal vote but only for those who live in Spain, and not for those Catalans who live abroad. The Catalan Minister for Public Administration, Meritxell Borràs, claimed that the Electoral Roll Office is committed to “not facilitating” the vote of those who live abroad. According to the data, more people applied for a postal vote this year than in the last Catalan elections, in 2012. Compared to last time around, 4,000 more Catalans living abroad requested the postal vote on the 16^th of September, the day before the deadline. 

European Commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis assured this Friday that Brussels’ intention “is not to influence votes in member states and regions”, referring to the upcoming 27-S Catalan elections, and outlined that they are “a choice of voters”. Dombrovskis comments came after European Commission spokesman Margarities Schinas warned on Thursday that in the event of becoming an independent state, Catalonia “will become a third country and may apply to become a member of the EU”. Dombrovskis, former Prime Minister of Latvia and European Commissioner for the Euro and Social Dialogue recalled that the European Commission “does not normally comment on party politics in member states or their regions”. “We are ready to work with democratically elected or appointed authorities of member states”, he emphasised

Catalan Green-Socialist party ICV and alternative left-wing Podem (the Catalan branch of the Spanish party Podemos),running under the name 'Catalunya Sí que es Pot' (in English, 'Catalonia yes we can'), is a new party designed to run in the 27-S Catalan elections. Its leader, Lluís Rabell, comes from the social and neighbourhood community scene and claims to be the voice of “the social majority that is being silenced by the independence debate” in Catalonia. Regarding Catalonia’s push for independence, ‘Catalunya Sí que es Pot’ is for “the celebration of an agreed consultation which can be recognised internationally” and, in order to have this, they find it indispensable to “overthrow the Conservative People’s Party (PP) in Spain”.