Catalan pro-independence party ERC will consult its membership as to what position it should take in the Congress in Madrid with respect to Pedro Sánchez's reinvestiture as prime minister. The vote will take place between 9am and 8:30pm on Monday electronically, the same system used for its leadership election in September, as first reported by El Periódico and confirmed by El Nacional. The result will be announced the same day at 9pm.
The question as agreed on by party leadership is: "Do you agree with rejecting Pedro Sánchez's investiture if beforehand there is no agreement to tackle the political conflict with the [Spanish] state through a negotiating table?" Party members have received an email this afternoon giving them details of the vote.
El Nacional reported on Monday that party leaders planned to discuss their position on supporting Sánchez's return as prime minister with membership in the territorial assemblies called between this Wednesday and 5th December as part of their 28th Congress. In the end, however, they have decided to go further and hold a formal consultation of the whole membership to decide on the votes of their 13 delegates in Madrid.
With the failed investiture of Sánchez in July, some party activists complained that they hadn't been able to express their opinions and called for the party to organise such a consultation. That never happened, with leadership taking the decision to abstain alone.
Ahead of Monday's decision, party leadership is maintaining its "no" to an investiture and demanding negotiations with Pedro Sánchez on the Catalan conflict as a condition to changing its position. These talks, they say, need to be between equals, that everything has to be up for discussion with a clear timetable and guarantees it will be met.
At the same time, ERC are continuing their talks with the other Catalan pro-independence parties, JxCat and CUP, to reach a joint position on the issue.