Catalan Election: Big Boost for Stateless Nations Such as Scotland and Kurdistan

Vote count, Barcelona, Feb 14, 2021 [Lluis Gene/AFP via Getty Images]

Pro-independence parties in Catalonia have this week increased their majority in the regional parliament, winning 74 out of 135 seats, compared to 70 in the 2017 elections. While the Socialist Party, which favours Catalonia’s continued union with Spain, is the biggest single party, it will struggle to get enough backing from other parties to form a regional government. The election result is a big boost, first for the cause of Catalan independence, and also for other stateless nations such as the Scots and the Kurds in the South of Kurdistan. The Catalan result amounts to a big challenge to the Spanish constitution and it may not be too long before the breakaway of Catalonia becomes a reality.

Catalonia in the Spanish state consist of four provinces, which are: Barcelona (5.5 million people), Tarragona (800,00 people), Girona (750,000 people) and Lleida (440,000 people). The total population is approximately 7.5 million people.