Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont | Omer Messinger/EFE via EPA Madrid court allows exiled Catalans to run in EU election Ousted former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont welcomes ruling as a ‘victory.’

A Madrid court gave the green light Monday for exiled former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and two others to run in the European Parliament election.

The judges struck down a decision by the Spanish Election Commission, which is independent of the government, to bar Puigdemont and two other former members of the Catalan government from running in the election because they are not residing in Spain.

The Supreme Court determined on Sunday that there is no reason the three would be ineligible to run, but kicked the final decision to the Madrid judiciary.

All three fled the country in 2017 following a referendum deemed illegal by the Spanish judiciary and a subsequent declaration of independence by the regional parliament. They face arrest if they return to Spain, over their role in the separatist push.

The Madrid court said in a statement that “the only reason that a candidate could not run in an election is that they have some cause of ineligibility.”

“The only alleged reason of ineligibility was the plaintiffs’ situation of absentia, but as the Supreme Court said, such a situation is not a cause for ineligibility.”

Puigdemont welcomed the decision on Twitter as a “victory,” saying that “all this potential will be put to the service of winning causes and projects for all citizens from the European Parliament. Our team knows what is at stake, how to fight and how to win!"