Politics
21:53, 10-Mar-2018
Catalan parliament postpones vote on new leader
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Catalonia has postponed the election of a new regional president until further notice after Spain's Supreme Court ruled that candidate Jordi Sanchez would not be allowed to leave jail to attend a parliamentary session planned for Monday.
Sanchez is in jail awaiting trial on charges of rebellion and sedition relating to Catalonia's illegal referendum last October and its unilateral declaration of independence.
File photo of Jordi Sanchez /VCG Photo
File photo of Jordi Sanchez /VCG Photo
The speaker of the Catalan parliament, Roger Torrent, said late on Friday that the session would be postponed while separatist groups challenge the court ruling at the European Court of Human Rights.
Pro-independence parties won a slim majority in elections in December but have so far been frustrated by court rulings in their attempts to elect a regional president as Madrid insists any candidate must not be in jail or under judicial investigation.
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Source(s): Reuters