Marta Vilalta, Deputy Secretary General - Spokesperson
Marta Vilalta, Deputy Secretary General - Spokesperson

The Republicans voted overwhelmingly with 94.6% of the vote to reject Pedro Sánchez's investiture if there is no prior agreement to address the political conflict with the State at the negotiating table

Esquerra Republicana’s membership forces Spain’s Socialist Party (PSOE) to negotiate if they do not want to fail in their investiture bid. An overwhelming majority of the Republicans said no to the inauguration of Pedro Sánchez, the Socialist candidate to the Spanish premiership, if he does not sit at the negotiating table with Catalonia. 94.6% voted yes to the questionDo you agree to reject Pedro Sánchez’s investiture if there is no prior agreement to address the political conflict with the State at the negotiating table?” with 5.4% voting no.

Turnout for the electronic ballot was 70%, with 5,953 voting, out of a total 8,500 eligible to vote.

The Deputy Secretary General and spokeswoman for Esquerra Republicana, Marta Vilalta, stressed that “the members of Esquerra Republicana have spoken clearly: they have said no to the investiture of Pedro Sánchez under the present conditions, and yes to the negotiating table.” Vilalta stated that “today we are stronger than ever to force the State to sit down and talk, and that is the message the membership of Esquerra Republicana has conveyed to the PSOE and Podemos today,” referring to the agreement reached by the two parties to form a government in Spain.

With the final results of the ballot in, the Republican spokeswoman reiterated that “the decision is in the hands of the PSOE. If they want something from the Republicans, they must make their move, otherwise they’ll get no for an answer.”

Negotiating table, or a failed investiture bid
Marta Vilalta

On this day, Esquerra Republicana’s membership has endorsed the position of the party to force and demand negotiations from the PSOE with no provisos, in which self-determination, amnesty, rights and freedoms can be discussed, and with a guarantee of compliance. The Republicans have made it clear that this is the first step towards a democratic solution to the conflict between Catalonia and Spain and that now “it is the PSOE that has to take a decision: either the negotiating table, or a failed investiture bid”, added Vilalta.

The internal party vote comes in the context of negotiations for government in Spain after Esquerra Republicana won in the general elections on November 10 in Catalonia, obtaining 13 seats in the Spanish Congress, thus conditioning the formation of a PSOE-Podemos government for Spain.