The two main parties in Catalonia, which support independence from Spain, have agreed to support former leader Carles Puigdemont as a candidate for the leadership of the province, which has raised the possibility of a renewed tendency toward secession from Spain this year.
The results of the last elections, held on December 21, reflect the majority of the pro-independence parties, which are slim despite their failure to win more than 50% of the vote. Puigdemont is currently living in self-imposed in Brussels, where he went for fearing of being arrested on his return to Spain.
Among the candidates for the leadership of the region, Oriol Junqueras, who is serving a prison sentence in Madrid. The Catalan parliament will hold its first session on Jan. 17, the first step in the restoration of the local government after the Spanish government dismissed them after the endorsement of the independence results illegally.
Numerous political leaders were arrested in Catalonia on charges of provocation and rebellion after the declaration of independence, three of them still behind bars awaiting trial, while Puigdemont fled with four members of his dismissed government to Brussels.
