The 14th of February Catalan parliamentary elections have shown that support for the Catalan pro-independence movement is higher than ever, both in terms of a parliamentary majority and in the percentage of votes.
Catalonia’s pro-independence movement has done it again. After over a decade of a political process to become an independent State, this Sunday’s elections have shown a new milestone: over 50% of the Catalan population has voted for pro-independence parties. Esquerra Republicana (ERC), with 33 seats, followed by the 32 seats of Junts per Catalunya, and the CUP, with 9 seats, and minor forces that did not make it into the Parliament, have accumulated 52% of the votes. In this vein, pro-independence forces have secured an absolute majority of 74 MPs out of a total of 135.
As the results were published, the President of the Catalan National Assembly, Elisenda Paluzie, stated, “The support for pro-independence is rock solid. We have exceeded the 50%, a milestone that Assemblea set on its roadmap two years ago. We congratulate Esquerra Republicana, Junts per Catalunya, and the CUP for the outcome of the election. We have legitimacy, and we will stand by your side to achieve independence”.
The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), a branch of the Spanish leading party PSOE, led by its former Health Minister Salvador Illa, barely surpassed ERC, meaning it will be the main representative of the Spanish nationalist forces in the Catalan Parliament. The Spanish far-right party VOX has also made it into the representatives’ house, draining the votes of other Spanish nationalist parties like the People’s Party (PP) or Ciudadanos (C’s).
These elections have shown again that despite the Spanish authorities’ intervention in Catalonia’s democratic processes -such as the imposition of an election despite the will of the Catalan government- the Catalan people are not willing to give up to their democratic goals and aspirations of national freedom. The historical support for Catalonia’s pro-independence forces reflects the legacy of the 1st of October 2017 referendum and reinforces its mandate’s legitimacy. It will be the future government’s duty to comply with the people’s claim and make independence a reality.