county council

Catalans are holding their municipal elections on Sunday, while the elections to the Catalan Parliament are to be held in September, as opposed to other parts of Spain, where they are voting for their regional parliaments on Sunday. These municipal elections come after 7 years of economic crisis and also with very uncertain political horizons. Two debates have dominated the campaign: Catalonia’s independence and the rise of new or secondary parties that promise to change the current model. For many people in Catalonia, Sunday’s elections will be a first stage of the ‘de facto’ plebiscite on independence that is going to take place with the Catalan elections on 27 September. It is also the opportunity to support changing the current political, economic and social model, with the rise of alternative left coalitions. Furthermore, majorities and town halls go through significant changes, particularly in Barcelona and the cities of its Metropolitan Area, where there are no clear winners forecast and surprises are likely to happen.

The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, will finally sign the decree calling the 9^th of November's self-determination vote on Saturday, a week after the Catalan Parliament approved the Law on Consultation Votes with 80% support. Mas will sign the decree surrounded by most of the leaders from the parties supporting November's vote and after having received the explicit support from 92% of Catalonia's municipalities. Besides, the Spanish Government will hold an exceptional Cabinet meeting on Monday (instead of waiting until Friday) to approve the two appeals against the new Catalan law and decree. The appeals will be filed to the Constitutional Court, whose plenary has then to decide whether it accepts them or not. If the Court accepts the appeals, the law and the decree will be temporarily suspended. The next Court's plenary is on the 7^th of October, but an extraordinary session could be organised this week.