BARCELONA, May 14 (AFP): The Catalan parliament prepared Monday to elect fiercely pro-secession candidate Quim Torra as the region's new leader, who promised to keep fighting for an independent republic.
In a pre-vote speech to lawmakers Monday morning, Torra said he would respect the result of an independence referendum that took place on October 1 despite a court ban and would fight to "build an independent state in the form of a republic".
Catalan separatist authorities said 90 per cent of the 2.2 million people who cast their ballot in the referendum-out of 5.5 million eligible voters-opted to break from Spain.
Torra's appointment as president is all but assured after the far-left radical pro-independence CUP party said it would abstain from Monday's parliamentary vote, rather than cast their ballot against him. This will leave father-of-three Torra with the simple majority needed to be elected and paves the way for a new government after months of political limbo.
Catalan MPs to appoint new hardline leader
FE Team | Published: May 14, 2018 21:50:24
Catalan MPs to appoint new hardline leader
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