Spain lawmakers to vote on Catalan amnesty law
Published: 04:01 PM,Jan 30,2024 | EDITED : 08:01 PM,Jan 30,2024
President of Republican Left Party (ERC) of Catalonia Oriol Junqueras meets with members of the party, in Madrid, Spain. — Reuters
MADRID: Spanish lawmakers on Tuesday vote on a deeply divisive law that would give amnesty to Catalan separatists and has sparked trenchant opposition from the right.
Passing the law was a condition laid down by the hardline Catalan separatist JxCat party in exchange for its crucial parliamentary support to enable Pedro Sanchez to begin a new term as prime minister in mid-November.
The controversial law will apply to those wanted by the justice system over the failed 2017 Catalan independence bid, first and foremost JxCat's exiled leader Carles Puigdemont.
Lawmakers are to gather to vote on the text, which needs the approval of a majority of 176 within the 350-seat chamber.
The ruling Socialists will need support from their radical left-wing coalition partner Sumar, and both the Catalan and Basque regional parties to pass the bill.
At the last minute JxCat threatened to throw a spanner in the works and vote against the bill unless changes were made that guarantee that the amnesty is applied 'immediately' to 'everyone' involved in the secession bid.
That would include Puigdemont, who is facing several legal probes over his role in Catalonia's efforts to break free from Spain.
'The amnesty proposal that is being voted on does not guarantee these two objectives,' the party said in a statement.
If JxCat votes against the bill, it would return to a parliamentary commission in what would be a major setback for Sanchez that would highlight the fragility of his support in parliament.
Even if approved in the first vote, the bill would face numerous hurdles before becoming law.
The right-wing opposition Popular Party (PP) has vowed to do everything in its power to slow the bill's passage through the Senate upper house, where it holds an absolute majority.
It has already modified the procedural rules in the upper chamber and will ask for opinions and reports on the bill before amending it and sending it back to lawmakers for a final vote.
The government has offered immunity to separatists in exchange for power, opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo told 45,000 protesters in central Madrid during the latest demonstration against the amnesty bill at the weekend.
Lambasted for months by members of the judiciary, the bill is also facing a string of legal challenges that could jeopardise its future.
A Barcelona magistrate said he was extending his probe into alleged ties between Puigdemont and the Kremlin to determine whether the JxCat leader had sought Russian support for an eventual Catalan state. — AFP
Passing the law was a condition laid down by the hardline Catalan separatist JxCat party in exchange for its crucial parliamentary support to enable Pedro Sanchez to begin a new term as prime minister in mid-November.
The controversial law will apply to those wanted by the justice system over the failed 2017 Catalan independence bid, first and foremost JxCat's exiled leader Carles Puigdemont.
Lawmakers are to gather to vote on the text, which needs the approval of a majority of 176 within the 350-seat chamber.
The ruling Socialists will need support from their radical left-wing coalition partner Sumar, and both the Catalan and Basque regional parties to pass the bill.
At the last minute JxCat threatened to throw a spanner in the works and vote against the bill unless changes were made that guarantee that the amnesty is applied 'immediately' to 'everyone' involved in the secession bid.
That would include Puigdemont, who is facing several legal probes over his role in Catalonia's efforts to break free from Spain.
'The amnesty proposal that is being voted on does not guarantee these two objectives,' the party said in a statement.
If JxCat votes against the bill, it would return to a parliamentary commission in what would be a major setback for Sanchez that would highlight the fragility of his support in parliament.
Even if approved in the first vote, the bill would face numerous hurdles before becoming law.
The right-wing opposition Popular Party (PP) has vowed to do everything in its power to slow the bill's passage through the Senate upper house, where it holds an absolute majority.
It has already modified the procedural rules in the upper chamber and will ask for opinions and reports on the bill before amending it and sending it back to lawmakers for a final vote.
The government has offered immunity to separatists in exchange for power, opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo told 45,000 protesters in central Madrid during the latest demonstration against the amnesty bill at the weekend.
Lambasted for months by members of the judiciary, the bill is also facing a string of legal challenges that could jeopardise its future.
A Barcelona magistrate said he was extending his probe into alleged ties between Puigdemont and the Kremlin to determine whether the JxCat leader had sought Russian support for an eventual Catalan state. — AFP