Catalonia: Pro-independence candidate wins presidency

Catalonia’s regional parliament has elected pro-independence supporter Quim Torra as president, ending months of political stalemate in Spain’s northeastern region.  A close ally of former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, Torra, 55, won the ballot by a simple majority on Monday with the backing of 66 parliamentarians and four abstentions. Sixty-five legislators voted against him. Torra […]

Catalonia’s regional parliament has elected pro-independence supporter Quim Torra as president, ending months of political stalemate in Spain’s northeastern region. 

A close ally of former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, Torra, 55, won the ballot by a simple majority on Monday with the backing of 66 parliamentarians and four abstentions. Sixty-five legislators voted against him.

Torra has promised to draft a constitution for a future Catalan Republic and restore regional laws that were suspended by Spanish courts in the wake of Catalonia’s October 1, 2017, independence referendum in which about two million Catalans voted to secede from Spain.

Torra failed to win a prior ballot – which had required an absolute majority – on Saturday in the 135-member Catalan parliament, falling short of the 68 votes required to be elected.