Catalan leader Puidgemont rules out snap election

Pau Barrena | AFP | Getty Images

Catalan regional government president Carles Puigdemont attends a regional government meeting at the Generalitat Palace in Barcelona on October 10, 2017.

Catalan regional government president Carles Puidgemont has decided not to call a snap election, he announced Thursday.

The politician said he had considered the move — a bid to strengthen his mandate and break an ongoing deadlock with Madrid authorities — but ruled it out.

Following a day of uncertainty, Puidgemont announced his decision in the Catalan parliament.

Puidgemont has been under pressure to act after Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced that he would invoke “Article 155” unless the Catalan leader removed his previous declaration of independence.

Triggering the little-understood convention would allow Madrid to suspend the Catalonian regional parliament and seize full control.

Last weekend, Rajoy vowed to curtail some of the freedoms of Catalonia’s parliament, fire some of its political players and force regional elections within six months.

Spain was plunged into its worst constitutional crisis in decades after Catalonia held an independence referendum on October 1. Of the 43 percent of Catalans reported to have taken part, around 90 percent are believed to have voted in favor of independence.

Following the poll, images showing Madrid-backed police beating supporters of independence shocked onlookers.

The Catalan government, led by Puigdemont, has consistently argued that the “yes” vote provides the Catalonian region with a mandate to announce a split from Spain. However, Madrid has repeatedly dismissed the legitimacy of the outcome, saying the referendum was illegal.

European leaders, fearful of other calls for regional autonomy, have largely backed Madrid.