Catalan politicians have cleared the way for a pro-independence candidate to be elected regional president and end the emergency direct rule imposed by Madrid last year.
The far-left pro-independence Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) party said it would abstain from an investiture vote in the regional parliament on Monday.
The absence of its votes will leave pro-independence candidate Quim Torra with the simple majority needed to be elected regional president. The formation of a new regional government is required for Spain to lift the state of direct rule.
The Catalan regional assembly failed to elect Torra in an initial vote on Saturday, but at the second round scheduled for today, Monday, only a simple majority will be required, so he is expected to win.
He was handpicked as a candidate by deposed Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, currently in exile in Germany, and facing jail on rebellion charges, if he returns to Spain.
Torra, a 55-year-old, told parliament he was “working tirelessly for the Catalan republic” and signalled that the secession crisis in Spain is far from over, even if Catalonia does finally get a government.
