The Catalan exile body, Council of the Republic, has called for a massive turnout in the Spanish general election on 23rd July to create what it calls a "democratic overflow" that will block the majorities in the Spanish houses of parliament and thus give the Catalan parties real leverage. The government of the Belgium-based Council has asked the pro-independence parties that are running in the July election to make the undertaking not to guarantee the political stability of any Spanish government that "does not unequivocally commit to a political solution to the [Catalonia-Spain] conflict, based on an amnesty and respect for the right to self-determination, which the Catalan people exercised on October 1st, 2017". Such a undertaking would be additionally linked with the assumption of a clear independence-based agenda and a commitment to the path towards the Catalan Republic. The Council calls on these parties to swell their support sufficiently so that they could block the investiture of the next Spanish prime minister.
"Democratic overflow"
The Council of the Republic promotes the democratic overflow of the Spanish state by Catalan society, which they say must take place in all possible scenarios: citizen mobilization in the streets, non-violent civil disobedience, and also in the different institutions. It is precisely because of this commitment that they are criticizing the abstention called for by the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), a position which Together for Catalonia (Junts) also considers to be "shooting oneself in the head".
The Council makes a massive call for pro-independence voters to go to the polls on 23rd July, and warns that "no unionist party would ever ask for abstention among its voters as a way of combating independence". Thus, the exile body notes the importance of constructing a strategic unity between the pro-independence forces, to allow them to effectively confront "a unionism that is always ready for its strategic unity when it comes to combating independence". In this regard, they note the pact that allowed the Barcelona city council to invest the Socialist candidate Jaume Collboni as mayor, "where the parties that called themselves left-wing added their votes to the right, heir to the Franco regime".
Correcting pro-independence strategies
The leadership of the Council says its understands the disenchantment that is widespread among a significant part of the pro-independence grass roots, specifically, towards the political parties that aspire to govern "and we understand the reasons for their discomfort". Thus, they call on the pro-independence parties to correct the strategies of disunity and "sterile negotiation with Spain". Finally, the Council calls on the different political groups to work together to achieve the goals of "freedom, justice and self-determination for the people of Catalonia".
Opposing positions over abstention
The position taken by the Council's government is opposed to that of its own grass roots body, the Assembly of Representatives, which is preparing a resolution to request abstention or a null vote in the elections. The proposed resolution is in an initial phase of processing, and if it is finally accepted by the table, it will have to collect 31 endorsements among the members of the Assembly. If it is accepted, it will be included in the agenda of the next plenary session, which will be held on July 15th.