The public prosecutor’s office published its report on the cautionary measures that uphold February 14th as the polling date, “in order to protect the different rights and legitimate interests involved this conflict, it agrees with the precautionary measures”.
It does not address the merits of the matter, and only when a decision has to be taken on the appeal will it look into whether the Catalan government’s decree, postponing the elections called for February 14th, complied with the law, and a new date is to be set, or not.
It issued a statement, explaining that all pleas must be limited “in principle, solely and exclusively to the origin of the precautionary measure, leaving aside the merits of the matter, which by their very nature will be examined at the appropriate time during legal proceedings on the main case.
It will solely focus on whether the precautionary measure, according to which elections in Catalonia must be on February 14th, complies with electoral law, or must be repealed.
The public prosecutor’s office specified that “if legal effectiveness regarding the appealed resolution is not suspended” [the Catalan government’s decree which postpones elections], “the duration of the legal proceedings could render the selected date (February 14th) inviable, in accordance with the provisions of the decree which dissolved Parliament on December 21st.
The decision to lift the precautionary measures, according to the public prosecutor’s office “would, if adopted now, amount to anticipating a dismissal decision”. According to its arguments, bringing the electoral process to a standstill before a court decision on the appeals “would not allow an effective completion of proceedings, eventually leading to an infringement of the legal provisions, and the violation of the fundamental rights invoked by the appellants.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office stresses that the postponement to May 30th, “or even the possibility of further ones” due to the enduring pandemic, -which is the reason for the changes in the electoral process- are not affected by the current precautionary measures.
These are the arguments put forward by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the report it submitted to the Catalan High Court of Justice (TSJC), within the deadline laid down to present pleas, which ends tomorrow at 10 am.
Once the deadline ends, the seven judges will meet again. They will examine the pleas submitted by the Catalan government, if any, and they will debate on the merits of the matter, analyse the decree of postponement and decide whether elections can go ahead on February 14th in view on the pandemic.