Constitutional Court Invalidates Delegated Votes of Puigdemont and Puig
The Constitutional Court (TC) has officially ruled to annul the delegated votes of former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and former Minister Lluís Puig during a plenary session on Wednesday. This unanimous decision stems from a complaint lodged by the People's Party (PP), which challenged the legitimacy of the two politicians' votes that contributed to the founding of the current Parliament. According to legal sources cited by Europa Press, the decision was based on a previous ruling from June 2024, which deemed Puigdemont's and Puig's votes invalid, following a similar case where the TC had nullified Puig's telematic vote in the preceding legislature. This earlier ruling had been prompted by another complaint from the political group Socialistes i Units per Avançar.
A report by conservative magistrate Ricardo Enríquez, which carried significant weight, supported the PP's challenge, reinforcing the application of the doctrine established in prior cases involving the Parliament's decisions. The TC had also earlier sided with appeals from Vox and Ciudadanos against the Table of the Parliament's decisions regarding the approval of delegated votes.
Notably, despite the annulment, sources have indicated that the ruling will not have any substantial impact on the functioning of the current Parliament. The votes in question were deemed non-decisive in the agreements that had been adopted, a sentiment echoed in the court's earlier rejection of an extreme precautionary measure requested by the PP on June 18, which aimed to suspend the delegated votes. The court's rationale highlighted that the votes did not influence the outcome of the events occurring on June 10.
This recent judgment marks a continued scrutiny of the procedures and regulations surrounding delegated voting in the Catalan Parliament, reflecting the ongoing tensions within the political landscape of Spain. As debates and challenges persist, the TC's role in interpreting constitutional law remains pivotal in shaping the future of Catalan politics.
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