The president of ERC (Catalan Republican Left) in Barcelona City Council, Alfred Bosch, has argued that there should be no minimum turnout set for the 1st October referendum because, otherwise, "there will always be somebody who wants to boycott [it]". He made the comment this Thursday in an interview with the radio station Cadena SER when he was asked about the internal document from the ANC (Catalan National Assembly) in which the organisation supports moving ahead with independence regardless of the turnout for the vote.
Bosch said that it's logical to not set a minimum turnout because it would mean "following the standard that everyone follows", referring to the recommendations of the Venice Commission about good practice in the holding of referendums.
On the topic of a potential call from the Catalunya en Comú (Catalonia in Common) party for its supporters to take part in the referendum and vote 'no', Bosch argued that "any call to take part is positive" and reiterated that, for him, going to vote is a democratic exercise. He also rejected suggestions that some other organisation than the Catalan government should run the referendum, pointing out that holding it "isn't deceiving anyone", because the governing JxSí (Together for Yes) party had the aim of declaring independence in their manifesto for the last election.