Catalan government takes "denial" of vote of over 7,000 Catalans abroad before Supreme Court
According to the Government the decision by the Central Electoral Board not to extend the voting period for the 27-S elections for those living abroad "denied" this right to more than 7,000 Catalans
The Catalan government has filed a complaint before the Supreme Court against the decision by the Central Electoral Board (JEC, in Spanish) not to extend the voting period for the 27-S elections for those living abroad, thus "denying" this right to more than 7,000 Catalans. This figure represents a third of the total number of Catalans living overseas.
The announcement was made at a press conference by Meritxell Borràs, Catalan Minister of Governance, who specified that the JEC denied up to three requests from her government to extend the period for voters living abroad, after it detected "numerous incidents", including errors in the procedure and "never-ending" waiting times.
Interestingly, the JEC did extend the voting periods for members of the Spanish military, and agreed to do so in the European elections, too: "This violates the principle of equality. Why was it done in some cases, but not for an election as important as the one on September 27?", asked Borràs. She concluded: "They can’t get away with this, someone must be held accountable", whether it is someone in the Postal Service, the Foreign Ministry, or the JEC.
