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In the end, there was no surprise. The vast majority of the members of Catalan pro-independence party ERC have given their leaders their support to set the price of a reinvestiture for Pedro Sánchez at dialogue between the Catalan and Spanish governments to resolve the conflict. 94.6% of those who took part in today's vote said "yes" to the question: "Do you agree with rejecting Pedro Sánchez's investiture if beforehand there is no agreement to tackle the political conflict with the [Spanish] state through a negotiating table?" Participation was at 70% of the 8,500 eligible.

For the party executive the conclusion is clear: "The membership is forcing PSOE to negotiate; if they want something they'll have to make a move". Deputy general secretary Marta Vilalta said, during the announcement of the results, that they would now be passed to PSOE for them to take into account.

The final decision on how to vote will be taken by the party's national council as today's consultation was non-binding. That said, it gives them a way to increase the pressure on Sánchez. They've warned that "the ball is now in his court" and that "if he doesn't move, any agreement is impossible".

The result was expected as, given the wording of the question, a "no" vote was interpreted as giving Sánchez unconditional support. In fact, there were those within the party explicitly campaigning for their fellow members to vote "yes" today to "say no to Sánchez".

The next step is for the party's negotiating teams to meet. That will give the first real confirmation of what PSOE are willing to discuss and whether that includes all of ERC's four requirements. This is likely to be on Thursday at the earliest, as two of ERC's negotiators are members of the Catalan Parliament which is sitting on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

If this first stage is successful and ERC agrees to abstain or vote in favour of reinvesting Sánchez as Spanish prime minister, the next stage of talks will begin. The Catalan party wants those discussions to be between the Spanish and Catalan governments, instead of between political parties.