Pro-independence PDeCAT, the party of Carles Puigdemont, celebrated its national assembly this weekend. This included the election of new party head, David Bonvehí, in a joint ticket with Míriam Nogueras. Bonheví won in his “unitary” bid with 65.27% of votes in favor, beating his competitor David Torrents (28.9%). Some 5.8% of votes were left blank.

The weekend also included the announcement and effective resigning of former party head Marta Pascal, and interventions by politicians such as Catalan president Quim Torra, former Catalan president Artur Mas, and former Scottish first minister Alexander Salmond.

Over the weekend, the party plenary tackled various issues. Although on Friday an amendment was approved to “make the [independent] Catalan republic effective” in an “immediate” way as the party’s objective, it was ultimately decided to change the timeline to “as soon as possible.”

Bonheví and Nogueras to head party

David Bonvehí and Míriam Nogueras head a “unitary” proposal with sectors close to former Catalan president Carles Puigdemot and former PDeCAT leader Marta Pascal. Inasmuch, it includes the names that until now had formed part of Pascal’s executive, including Ferran Bel, Maria Senserrich, Marc Castells, Xavier Fonollsoa, Lourdes Ciuró, as well as Lluís Guinó (in Pascal’s team but close to Puigdemont). This candidature went up against that of David Torrents and Lola Mata.

Torra to attend Sunday’s closing ceremony

The Catalan president Quim Torra is also in attendance the closing of the PDeCAT national assembly. The Catalan leader chose ultimately to not participate in the inauguration of the ceremony on Friday, but instead to attend to that on Sunday.

The ending ceremony will also see the former Scottish first minister Alexander Salmond and former Catalan president Artur Mas. The leaders’ interventions are to be carried out after ‘an act to pay tribute to the institutions and people who were able to make the October 1 referendum possible.’

Marta Pascal steps down from party leadership

On Saturday, the now-former general coordinator of the party, Marta Pascal, stepped down from her position in the group’s leadership. This news had been already disclosed by some sources but was announced Saturday night in Barcelona.

“I see politics as a service” she said, “and I am the general coordinator of a party that we want to be big, where everyone can join in, where there’s room for everyone, but it’s evident that it can’t be that the coordinator doesn’t hold the confidence of president Puigdemont – and I don’t have it,” she admitted, surrounded by her team.

Sources close to Carles Puigdemont had already advanced that they didn’t want Marta Pascal to hold a predominant role in the new direction of the party, looking towards David Bonheví to assume the presidency instead, with Míriam Nogueras as vice presidency.

All this, involved in the political debate on what PDeCAT’s role should be, regards the project presented last week by former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, ‘La Crida Nacional per la República,’ an effort to expand on his current ticket, Junts per Catalunya (JxCat).