Referendum legislation to see out the course

It was assumed that Parliament was called back early from the holiday period in order to pave the way for the October 1 referendum which will require the pertinent law to be passed for that to take place. However, Speaker Carme Forcadell yesterday announced that the law was not even on the Order of the Day at the first House Committee meeting and so far she gave no indication of when the legalisation will be tabled. “We are not naive,” she said, “everyone knows the situation we are in with judicialisation of the political process.” Although the White Paper has been registered in Parliament, it is legally up to the Committee to decide when, and how, the debate will take place.

The parties involved in presenting the legislation as well as the Government, now have some extra days to decide the road they will take, well aware of the Constitutional Tribunal’s (TC) suspension of House ordinances which would allow for an express route as well as the Spanish government’s promise to immediately ask the TC to suspend the law. One option open is for Generalitat President Carles Puigdemont, backed by the government, to legislate by decree.

Opposition parties accused Forcadell of “cowardice” for not presenting the legislation in Parliament for debate.