Carles Puigdemont, the president of the exile body, the Council of the Catalan Republic, has communicated by email to all members informing them that he has decided to restructure the Council. Puigdemont announced that the first step will be to dissolve the Assembly of Representatives, which was elected in October 2021. In fact, this coming October, the organ was due to be renewed, but the government of the Council has decided to restructure the body, and thus, those who are registered with the council will be asked vote to approve a reform. Accordingly, throughout this coming month of September, the leadership of the Council will be holding a binding consultation in order for "the functions of the different bodies to be clarified".
What does the Council of the Republic government propose?
The government has presented a proposal, which will be put to a vote, proposing to create two representative bodies: a representative chamber of local councils, which will work with the aim of debating and making decisions on the actions to be carried out, and a second chamber that will be dedicated to "the preparation of republican legislation (the laws of the Catalan Republic) in which all those experts and professionals necessary for this task who are part of the Council's registered base can participate". So far, these tasks have been carried out by the Assembly of Representatives, but now it will stop doing them.The president of the Council's government will, it is proposed, be elected in a vote and the task of internal regulatory regulation will become the responsibility of the Council government.
The statement that has been sent to the members of the Council reminds that this reform has been proposed two years after the election of the current Assembly: "Since this reform modifies the current institutional structure of the Council, from the government we have submitted a consultation proposal to the Commission for Electoral and Participatory Processes with this substantial, organic and regulatory reform project". "If the Commission approves the proposal, the government's will is that this consultation will be held as soon as possible, during this coming September", he states.
The Council, on the investiture
Two days after the Spanish election on July 23rd, the government of the Council of the Republic called on "all pro-independence parties and entities" to agree on a "joint strategy" in Madrid to condition the investiture of "any Spanish president" to a "clear commitment to self-determination and amnesty," it said in a statement. For the organization, "from now on" the independence movement has an opportunity "to advance jointly and irreversibly towards the proclamation of the Catalan Republic". Likewise, the Council of the Republic discarded "the alternatives of empty dialogue" to agree on the investiture of Pedro Sánchez, as well as the "concession of competencies [to the autonomous communities]". Options that, according to the organization, have already been proven "to be a failed path".