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Spain's Constitutional Court: Puigdemont Must Attend Parliament to Be Sworn In

MADRID (Sputnik) - Ousted Catalonia’s leader Carles Puigdemont, currently residing in Belgium, may be sworn in as the head of the regional government only after attending the Catalan parliament in person, the Spanish Constitutional Court ruled on Saturday.
Sputnik

The court’s decision was unanimous. A parliamentarian can undergo the procedure of being sworn in as a head of the Generalitat, the Catalan government, only if he shows up in the assembly hall, the Constitutional Court said, thus ruling holding the procedure via video conference illegal.

If Puigdemont does not attend the swearing-in session in person, this procedure will be annulled, the court also ruled.

Puigdemont Nominated as Catalan Presidential Candidate
Earlier, Catalan Parliament speaker Roger Torrent said that he would propose Puigdemont as a candidate for the position of the head of the Catalan government. Puigdemont's candidacy was offered to the speaker by the coalition "Together for Catalonia".

Also, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said recently, that the Spanish authorities requested the State Council's opinion regarding the former Catalan leader's nomination as they consider it "non-compliant with the law."

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