Spain's Supreme Court Rules Catalan Government Chief Torra Cannot Hold Elected Offices

Spain's Supreme Court Rules Catalan Government Chief Torra Cannot Hold Elected Offices

The Spanish Supreme Court upheld the decision of a lower court and deprived Quim Torra, the head of the Catalan government, of the right to hold any elected office for 1.5 years

MADRID (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th September, 2020) The Spanish Supreme Court upheld the decision of a lower court and deprived Quim Torra, the head of the Catalan government, of the right to hold any elected office for 1.5 years.

This means Torra now has to resign, and the regional parliament must either approve a new head of government or be dissolved if lawmakers fail to reach agreement. In this case, new elections will be held in Catalonia.

Last December, the High Court of Justice of Catalonia found Torra guilty of disobeying the Central Election Commission's order to remove political symbols from the Generalitat building during the spring 2019 election campaign.

The Catalan court deprived Torra of his right to hold elected offices at local, state and European levels during 1.5 years, and also slapped him with a 30,000 Euros ($34,979) fine.

Now Torra has the right to appeal to the Constitutional Court of Spain. If this court upholds the Supreme Court verdict, Torra pledges to turn to the European Court of Human Rights.