ERC will make a motion of support for a referendum on independence in Barcelona

Originally published in Vilaweb on 21 December 2009 at 17:00 GMT+1

Portabella thinks that there should be as many polling places open as in regular elections

Esquerra's [ERC] municipal group in the Barcelona city government will present a motion of support for the celebration of a referendum on independence in the city. It will not do so in the meeting this Wednesday, which is the last of the year, but instead will probably wait until next month, "when we see that it will go somewhere," said Jordi Portabella. He thinks that it will be almost impossible to hold the referendum properly on April 25th but did not discard September 13 as a possibility.

Some of the organizers of the referendums of this past December 13, like Carles Móra, have proposed, though not formally, that the referendum in Barcelona be held on September 13, which will be the first anniversary of the first referendum. That would allow more time for organizing and would also have added symbolic value. That possibility is looked upon favorably by Portabella, who insists that "any date with an added value, as long as the process is well defined, will be welcome. But we are not yet ready to set the date."

During the same week that the December 13 referendums were held, the group Barcelona Decideix [Barcelona Decides] presented its initiative of holding a referendum in Barcelona on April 25th, but the criticisms from groups and organizations who had not been previously consulted eventually made the date conditional.

Portabella thinks that for the referendum to work, and for the turnout to be high, it's important there there be as many polling places open as in regular elections.