Brussels, 26/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - The early elections in the autonomous region of Catalonia on Sunday 25 November did not provide the right of centre nationalist Convergencia i Unio (CiU) with the overwhelming victory its president, Artur Mas, had hoped for. Although he did not obtain an absolute majority, Mas does not appear likely to abandon his wish to organise a referendum on Catalonia's self-determination. His party is still the biggest party in the regional parliament.
On Sunday 25 November, Catalans were urged to turn out at the voting booths for the regional elections that were presented as a decisive turning point for the independence movement in the region. However, the election result did not confirm the CiU party of Artur Mas with an absolute majority. He had organised these early elections and had promised a referendum on the region's self-determination if he obtained an absolute majority (68 seats required out of 135, which became, on the contrary, an even more distant objective given that the number of seats he controlled fell from 62 to 50). The dozen or so seats the CiU lost went to the left of centre Republicans. The Esquerra republicana de Catalunya (ERC) party, which supports independence, created the biggest upset by doubling the number of seats it held at Parliament from 10 to 21.
Catalans have therefore clearly affirmed their aspirations for even more autonomy because the parties supporting self-determination obtained an absolute majority (104 out of 135), the same as those arguing for independence (74 seats).
Artur Mas admitted that he was very disappointed by his party's falling vote and the difficult situation resulting from it. Nonetheless, he confirmed that “the process leading to the right to decide would go ahead”, which suggests that he will not abandon his intention to organise a referendum on Catalonia's self-determination in the next legislature.
The Commission remained cautious when questioned about the election results and the possible independence of Catalonia. Its spokesperson, Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, declared that “it is not the role of the European Commission to take a detailed position on questions of domestic orientation in a given scenario. Our position has not changed and will not change.” As nationalist rumours abound in Catalonia, the question of the place of a new state resulting from independence is obviously not going to go away any time soon. (MD/transl.fl)