Catalonia's President Artur Mas might be sued by Spain for defying a court injunction and illegally holding an informal vote last weekend on whether the wealthy northeastern region should secede from the rest of Spain, court sources said on Wednesday.
If sued for "dishonesty and disobedience," Mas could potentially be barred from running in regional elections next year, Reuters reported. However, the 58-year-old politician and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy have stated that after years of bitter fighting over Catalonia's relationship with Spain, they would like to start a dialogue in the upcoming days.
On Sunday, more than two million Catalans overwhelmingly voted in favor of secession from Spain. The mock independence poll was held despite Spain's Constitutional Court ordering the suspension of the unconstitutional ballot after agreeing to hear the Spanish government's challenge against it, BBC News reported.
"Despite the enormous impediments, we have been able to get out the ballot boxes and vote," Mas had said after depositing his ballot at a school in Barcelona. He hailed the non-binding poll "a great success" that should pave the way for a formal referendum.
"We have earned the right to a referendum," he told cheering supporters. "Once again Catalonia has shown that it wants to rule itself."
Then on late Saturday, Spanish state prosecutors announced that they were opening an investigation to determine if by holding the informal vote in defiance of the court's suspension, the Catalan government had broken the law.
Unperturbed by the threats, Mas has now proposed for Spain to establish a permanent dialogue over Catalan independence
"While Rajoy has already said he would never agree on a legal referendum on Catalonian independence, last week he suggested Spain may reform its constitution and give the autonomous community more say over tax collection and spending," according to Reuters.
The complaint against Mas is likely to be filed later on Wednesday or on Thursday, according to court sources.
Meanwhile, if Mas and his deputy Joana Ortega do get sued, the public prosecutor's case will most probably restrict the president from taking part in the next regional elections, due to be held late in 2016.
Since the past three years, nationalism in Catalonia has been fueled by economic and cultural grievances, setting of hundreds of thousands of pro-independence rallies. The wealthy region of 7.5 million people contributes more to the Spanish economy than it gets back through central government funds, the AP reported
