This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The fugitive former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont could return to the region this week in an attempt to retake office, three months after he was sacked by the Spanish government over his push for secession.

Puigdemont has been in self-imposed exile in Brussels since the end of October, when the Madrid government responded to the Catalan parliament’s unilateral declaration of independence by firing the regional government and assuming direct control of Catalonia.

In an election in December, the three pro-independence Catalan parties retained their majority, and Puigdemont has been proposed as the only candidate for president.

Quick guide Elections in Catalonia Show Hide Why elections are being held On 27 October, less than an hour after secessionist Catalan MPs voted to declare independence, Spain’s senate gave the country’s prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, power to assume control of Catalonia. As well as sacking the regional president, Carles Puigdemont, and his pro-independence government, Rajoy called snap elections to be held on 21 December. Candidates Although Puigdemont is in Belgium and his former vice-president Oriol Junquerasis in jail pending possible charges including rebellion and sedition, both they and their parties are going to contest the election. More than a dozen Catalan leaders face charges, but all are eligible to stand so long as they are not convicted and barred from public office. Among those also running are the anti-independence, centrist Ciutadans or Citizens party, the Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya, En Comú Podem-Catalunya en Comú coalition and Spain’s ruling conservative People’s party. What it means for independence Pro-independence parties used the polls two years ago as a de facto vote on splitting from Spain and Puigdemont’s coalition set about paving the way for the unilateral referendum. Pro-independence parties will be looking to use next week’s vote to maintain their momentum. Opposition parties will be looking to capitalise on the frustrations of the roughly 50% of Catalans opposed to independence. How voting works Members of the 135-seat Catalan parliament are elected using proportional representation. The seats are divided into four districts: at least 3% of the vote in each district is needed to win seats, and 68 seats are needed for a majority. The electoral system is weighted in favour of less populated rural areas.

However, he faces arrest on possible charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds the moment he sets foot in Spain.

On Saturday, Spain’s constitutional court ruled that the ousted leader could not participate in an investiture debate on Tuesday via video conference or by getting one of his MPs to read a speech in his place.

Judges at the court said Puigdemont’s investiture would be suspended unless he appeared in person in parliament with “prior judicial authorisation”. Hours later, Puigdemont’s party said he would seek legal permission to attend the session.

On Sunday morning, a spokesman for Together for Catalonia said: “If [constitutional court judge Pablo] Llarena allows it, and we think he’ll act freely, Puigdemont will come and explain his plan for government.”

The constitutional court judges said they would need six further days to consider the Spanish government’s request to annul Puigdemont’s candidacy for president, prompting him to tweet that the court had rejected what he called an attempt at “legal fraud”.

On Friday, Spain’s deputy prime minister, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, said: “The government must use every tool made available by the laws and the constitution to make sure that a fugitive, someone who is on the run from the law and the courts, cannot be illegitimately be sworn in.”

Josep Rull, a Together for Catalonia MP, said the court’s decision was “an open-handed slap in the face” for the deputy prime minister.

While the legal measures imposed on Puigdemont were unprecedented and improper, Rull said, the former leader would respect the constitutional court’s ruling, but he would need guarantees over his investiture.

Although Puigdemont is the sole presidential candidate, an MP from another pro-independence party hinted on Sunday that he could be replaced if necessary.

Joan Tardà of the Catalan Republican Left party said while the plan was to see Puigdemont sworn in as president, with the jailed ERC leader Oriol Junqueras returning as vice-president, things could change.

“What’s essential is that we have a government; if we have to sacrifice president Puigdemont, we’ll have to sacrifice him,” he said.