The new roadmap that the ERC leadership proposes for the party’s national congress raises the terms of a future referendumwhich should be agreed with the state through a clarity agreement and which would include the Montenegrin formula: a minimum of 50% participation and 55% yes.
After militancy re-elected with broad support the triumvirate formed by Oriol Junqueras, Marta Rovira and Pere Aragonès In order to continue leading the party, Esquerra will celebrate the second phase of its national congress on January 28 in Lleida, where the strategic axes of the independence party will be redefined.
To this end, the Republican leadership has approved a new political document that sets the conditions for holding a referendum on independence, a document that will now begin its internal processing with possible modifications in the territorial and sectoral debates, until its final approval at the January conclave.
A referendum like Scotland, Quebec or Montenegro
Under the title The democratic way of the referendumthe new roadmap proposed by the Republican leadership undertakes to articulate a “Clarity Agreement”, follow the Canadian wayas proposed by the Catalan President, Pere Aragonès, on September 27.
Said Clarity Agreement would take place after an internal debate in Catalonia and the sum of alliances with political, economic and social actors; Once this Catalan proposal has been articulated – which would set the conditions for the referendum – it would be transferred to negotiation with the State, to then agree on the hypothetical consultation.
That is why, with a view to this future debate in Catalonia before the negotiation, the document outlines the conditions that this referendum should have, according to the Republican formation, which collects previous aspects of cases such as Scotland, Quebec or Montenegro.
Thus, ERC proposes to consider that the “yes” to independence has won if there is a minimum of 50% participation and 55% in favor of yes. ERC Deputy General Secretary and Spokesperson Marta Vilalta stressed that these were the thresholds for the independence referendum in Montenegro, which received the approval of the European institutions, and that “ they give maximum legitimacy and a plus of approval at the international level”.
In addition, the referendum question must be “clear, like the 1-O referendum question”and if the yes wins, a negotiation should be opened between the Catalan and central governments with European and international mediation, according to the presentation.
The ERC, on the other hand, proposes that anyone residing in Catalonia over the age of 16 and non-residents eligible to vote in general elections can vote in the referendum, similar to what happened in Scotland in 2014.
Party sources point out that this is a proposal to “start to generate a debate” on the conditions with other political and social actors with the aim of generating consensus in Catalonia before transferring the petition to the State.
They enjoy negotiating with the government
The presentation values the fruits of the negotiations with the government on the conflict in Catalonia, among which the Republicans point out that they “moved the PSOE” up to approving pardons for those convicted of 1-O and dealing with the repeal of sedition.
After the reforms of the Penal Code which seek to obtain the same “effects” as an amnesty, it is time to open another phase at the dialogue table, centered on the resolution of the political conflict; In this phase, the Republicans framed the negotiation of the “clarity agreement” for the referendum.
“We we don’t want to impose the Catalan Republic on anyone. What we want is to be able to decide, that the citizens take this decision in a participative way. A referendum is the maximum expression of democratic will,” Vilalta said. However, ERC underlines in its presentation that they will not give up “any democratic instrument” for Catalans to decide their future.
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