BRUSSELS — The ousted leader of Catalonia recently addressed a rally of separatist voters in a packed theater in the Catalan city of Igualada. He was not among his separatist supporters, but spoke via satellite from hundreds of miles away: in Belgium. The long-distance campaign for re-election by the leader, Carles Puigdemont, highlights the unorthodox circumstances surrounding the Dec. 21 Catalan elections. Mr. Puigdemont surfaced in Brussels in October and is refusing to return to Spain to stand trial on charges of rebellion. Mr. Rajoy had ousted his administration and dissolved the Catalan Parliament, using emergency constitutional powers to stop separatist lawmakers who had unilaterally declared independence.

Source: New York Times December 16, 2017 15:40 UTC