These were the first regional elections since Catalonia’s Oct. 1 referendum on independence rocked Spain’s political system. The region had negotiated an agreement on more autonomy and local authority, approved both by the Catalan and Spanish parliaments and in a Catalan referendum in 2006. The question of independence has become the central theme of Catalan, and more recently, Spanish politics. The Spanish government dismissed the Catalan government, dissolved the Catalan parliament and called regional elections for Dec. 21. The Spanish courts ordered the arrest of six Catalan government officials, including Vice President Oriol Junqueras on possible charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds.

Source: Washington Post December 22, 2017 09:00 UTC