Catalan separatist lawmakers have voted against an amnesty bill amid disagreements on its scope between the ruling Socialists and a Catalan separatist party, dealing a blow to the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
The bill, which was rejected on Tuesday by 179 votes to 171, will return to a parliamentary committee for a debate and could potentially be sent back for another vote in the lower house.
Last year, in exchange for parliamentary support from two small Catalan separatist parties, Sanchez agreed to put forward the bill.
But the Catalan Junts voted against the bill after they failed to reach a last-minute deal with Sanchez’s Socialist Workers’ Party.
The Junts wanted all exceptions related to “terrorism” to be removed from the bill since some of the party’s politicians are currently under investigation by courts over alleged charges. The party pushed for Carles Puigdemont, its former leader, to return home after currently living in Belgium as a fugitive.
The amnesty bill is controversial in Spain, with heavy criticism from conservative and far-right opposition parties.
Credit: aljazeera.com
