Referendum in Catalonia
This year the Spanish region Catalonia will hold a referendum on the revision of its constitution.
This revision is currently discussed in the Spanish Parliament. But the citizens will have a say. The voting day is expected in May.
We expect a fair procedure. The experience in referendums to approve new regional constitutions is quite good (in comparison with the non-binding referendums called directly by the national government). The political parties are able to apply for funds to run their campaigns. The government can only run a campaign to inform voters about the procedure.
Mas Democracia will monitor this process.
The Course
- The regional parliament proposes a draft for the new regional constitution.
- This draft is sent to the national parliament, where it is discussed in the Congress of Deputies (camara de diputados). The process is now in this stage. An absolute majority must support the draft.
- Then it will be passed to the senate (senado). Again, an absolute majority is necessary.
- The regional government will call the referendum in Catalonia.
The regulation
The referendum is obligatory. For some regions in Spain (namely, Catalonia, Basque Region, Galicia and Andalusia) any modification of their regional constitutions must be approved by referendum. The constitutional amendment will go through if there is an absolute majority of voters supporting the modification in each of the affected provinces (four in the case of Catalonia).
The result of the referendum is binding.
