No early elections in Spain, says new PM Sanchez

Spain’s new Prime
Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday said he
was unlikely to call a snap election and that
he wanted to hold the next countrywide vote
in 2020 when the current term is scheduled to
end.
Sanchez, who toppled his conservative
predecessor Mariano Rajoy last month in a
confidence vote, controls less than a quarter
of the seats in the parliament and he had
been until now widely expected to call a
general election in the next months.
“My ambition is to go until the end of the
term and call the next election in 2020,”
Sanchez told Spain’s public broadcaster TVE
in his first interview since he was sworn in.
From appointing a cabinet with a majority of
women to taking in drifting migrant ship
Aquarius or raising public pensions in line
with inflation, Sanchez has announced high-
profile measures to cement his power and
lure left-wing voters.
He also said on Monday he would soon meet
the head of the restive Catalonia region and
was in favor of bringing Catalan politicians
who are currently in jail for their role in an
illegal independence drive closer to home.

Spain's new government to remove Franco's remains from mausoleum

Spain's new Socialist government is determined to remove
the remains of Francisco Franco from a vast mausoleum
near Madrid and turn it into a place of "reconciliation" for a
country still coming to terms with the dictator's legacy.
"There already exists an agreement in parliament, what we
are going to do as a government is look for the way to apply
it," Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo told reporters.
She was referring to a non-binding motion approved last
year by 198 of the 350 lawmakers in Spain's parliament
calling for Franco's remains to be removed from the
massive Valley of the Fallen mausoleum some 50 kilometres
(30 miles) northwest of Madrid.
But the motion was ignored by the former conservative
government of Mariano Rajoy.
Now the goal is to convert the site into a "place of
reconciliation, of memory, for all Spaniards, and not of
apology for the dictatorship," said Socialist party spokesman
Oscar Puente.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who toppled Rajoy in a no-
confidence vote on June 1 after a corruption scandal, has
since made the question of what do with Franco's remains
a priority of his minority government.
Franco ruled Spain with an iron fist from the end of the
country's 1936-39 civil war until his death in 1975, when he
was buried inside a basilica drilled into the side of a
mountain at the Valley of the Fallen, one of Europe's largest
mass graves.

Franco governed Spain with an
iron fist from the end of the
country's 1936-39 civil war until
his death in 1975, when he was
buried inside a basilica drilled
into the side of a mountain at
the Valley of the Fallen

Built by Franco's regime between 1941 and 1959 -- in part by

the forced labour of political prisoners -- in the granite

mountains of the Sierra de Guadarrama, the monument

holds the remains of more than 30,000 dead from both

sides of the civil war, which was triggered by Franco's

rebellion against an elected Republican government.

Franco, whose Nationalist forces defeated the Republicans

in the war, dedicated the site to "all the fallen" of the

conflict in an attempt at reconciliation, but only two graves

are marked -- those of Franco and Jose Antonio Primo de

Rivera, the founder of the far-right Falangist party which

supported Franco.

- 'Uncomfortable past' -

The mausoleum features a 150-metre-tall (500-feet) stone

cross and other symbols of Franco's National-Catholic

ideology, and is seen by many as a relic of the dictatorship.

Fresh flowers can still be found on top of Franco's and

Rivera's tombs.

Many on the left are repulsed by its existence, comparing it

to a monument glorifying Hitler.

Others, often on the right, insist the Valley of the Fallen is an

innocuous piece of history whose critics have twisted its

true meaning.

The Socialists included the removal of Franco and Rivera's

remains in a proposed law they presented in December 2017

when they were in opposition.

The proposed law also called for the creation of a truth

commission and for politically motivated court rulings taken

during Franco's dictatorship to be annulled.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has

made the question of what do with

Franco's remains a priority of his

minority government

Sanchez unveiled it at a highly symbolic spot near the

eastern port of Valencia where more than 2,000 Republican

supporters are believed to have been shot dead by Franco's

forces.

"If we ignored an uncomfortable past, we can't build a

comfortable future," he said at the time.

- 'Genocidal dictator' -

Rajoy's Popular Party, a successor to the Popular Alliance

founded in 1976 by former Franco ministers, accuses the

Socialists of needlessly raking over the past.

"The Socialist party has accustomed us to leading these

cultural battles" which "do nothing to help coexistence," said

Andrea Levy, a top Popular Part official.

Centrist party Ciudadanos said it was open to moving

Franco's remains, while anti-establishment party Podemos,

which supported the no-confidence motion that brought the

Socialists to power, hailed the initiative.

Top Podemos official Pablo Echinique said it was wrong for

the remains of a "genocidal dictator" to rest "in a giant

mausoleum while there are tens of thousands of dead in

mass graves".

He was referring to the estimated 114,000 bodies of the

victims of Franco's forces during the civil war and the first

years of his rule that are still in unmarked graves across

Spain.

Is Détente Possible Now?

Having looked at the development
of the Catalan movement (and
particularly the turn away from
any real fight by the two main
pro-Catalan parties) it is easier to
comprehend the dynamics behind Rajoy’s sudden
end. First, partly due to the failure by the
Spanish (and Catalan) left to explain the Catalan
struggle and its progressive aspects to non-
Catalans, the main Spanish benefactor of the
crisis in Catalonia has been Ciudadanos. The
party is leading the Spanish polls for the first
time, and even if these are likely to have
exaggerated its support (as has happened in the
past), it should be remembered that C’s came
first in the December elections in Catalonia — a
major breakthrough.
The party is an odd mix of fresh-faced extreme
centrism a la Macrón, phony anti-establishment
populism a la Trump, and hard nationalism
increasingly a la Le Pen. It has a clear program to
recentralize the Spanish state (opposing the
lifting of Article 155, and planning both to
reimpose teaching in Spanish in Catalan schools
and remove the Basque Country’s tax-raising
powers).
After the Gürtel verdict, keeping the PP in office
was no longer justifiable for any of the significant
parties in Congress — including Ciudadanos
(which had given parliamentary support for the
PP to form a government). But any move sparking
early elections would likely bring about some
variant of hard-centralist government (possibly
led by C’s) that would keep enflaming the Catalan
conflict.
Both Catalan and Basque nationalists were
fearful of such a scenario and thus chose to back
Sánchez in ousting Rajoy. The Basque PNV party
did this despite having kept Rajoy afloat just
weeks before by backing his budget. Podemos
and its allies also were fearful of the continued
entrenchment of a conflict from which they do
not benefit electorally. It seems the Podemos
leadership played a key role in bringing together
the PSOE, which supported applying Article 155
and the Catalan parties that have been victims of
it.
Podemos also gains from having its main
competitor in a minority government: if the PSOE
fails to bring about change, Podemos can hope to
take votes from it later; if the PSOE does
progressive policies, Podemos hopes it will be
easy to form a left-coalition government after
new elections. This is one reason why the party
attempted to get a similar no-confidence motion
passed a year ago.
Other forces have likely aided bringing about the
cooperation between the PSOE and the parties
that supported its motion. EU leaders have
reacted positively to the change in Spain and it is
probable that they believe Sánchez to be more
capable of pacifying Catalonia. Requests by
Spanish Supreme Court judges have on several
occasions been rejected by European courts —
such as when a German court ruled that
Puigdemont had not promoted a violent rising
against the state and could not be extradited for
such. This was a rejection of the main basis for
the state’s authoritarian behavior.
Of course, the European Union opposes any
secessionism in a member state that might
encourage other national movements or add to
existing economic and political instabilities. But it
is not interested in the continuation of a conflict
that has already undermined the EU’s own
democratic legitimacy and has the potential to
evolve into a radical challenge to the status quo.
Big business has also been encouraging a new
direction. The president of the giant Santander
Bank has called for “rebuilding bridges” between
Barcelona and Madrid, and for Spain to “make all
Catalans attracted to Spain again.” Meanwhile a
Barcelona-based business lobby has proposed
that Madrid should end the conflict by offering
the Catalan government greater fiscal and other
powers. The initiative was praised by Catalan
president Torra, which will have sent the
message to Sánchez that the Generalitat is open
to a deal that falls short of a legal referendum.
The signs are that the new government in Madrid
will use both carrot and stick. Sánchez has
included right-wingers and hard unionists in its
government, such as the new interior minister
who as a judge twice jailed Arnaldo Otegi — the
pro-independence politician most responsible for
bringing about peace in the Basque country. The
new foreign minister is a unionist who called for
“disinfecting” Catalonia on a platform alongside
hard-rightists in Barcelona. Such appointments
have been welcomed by conservative
commentators and politicians and suggest that
the new government will be willing to use
despotic methods. It is telling that the new
administration has not handed back control of
Catalan public finances to the Generalitat. And
only a week before being sworn in, Sánchez
dubbed the new Catalan president a “racist” who
is “worse” than Marine Le Pen.
But since the motion of no-confidence was tabled
Sánchez has seemingly done a 180º turn, also
talking of “building bridges” with the pro-
independence Generalitat. His appointee for
minister of territorial policy is a Catalan
federalist who immediately promised an “urgent”
reform of the Spanish constitution. Sánchez has
ruled out giving Catalans self-determination but
says he will study forty-five demands previously
made by Puigdemont to Rajoy. It is difficult not to
see this strategy as interesting the pro-Catalan
liberals who need to justify abandoning creating
the Catalan Republic. Perhaps that is why the
powerful right wing of the PSOE has publicly
warned their leader about “concessions” being
made to “nationalists.” However, if Sánchez
offered the Catalan government economic and
political territorial reforms, he would be
supported by Basque Nationalists, European
leaders, and possibly Podemos and its allies. Most
importantly, the retreating pro-Catalan
movement may be willing to accept this.
There are many question marks as to whether
this strategy will be possible. The Spanish right
will now form a strong opposition, in which its
two components will compete to be the biggest
adversaries of giving “rewards” to “criminals.”
Bridges could be blown up by the judges who will
be presiding over major trials in the autumn. The
last PSOE president — Zapatero — did a U-turn
over allowing a new Catalan statute giving the
territory more powers and national status after
encountering massive establishment resistance. It
is difficult to think why Sánchez would not face
the same.
But, most crucially, the uprising that began in
Catalonia in October was not about gaining
greater fiscal powers or being recognized as a
“nation.” Those that faced police batons did so
for the right to decide which state they live in. It
might take a while, but my bet is on a powerful
movement returning — probably in a new form
and based on different alliances.

Catalonia’s Hot Autumn

In October, Madrid suspended

Catalan self-government after a pro-
independence parliament declared
independence — itself in response
to the repression against a
referendum it had been forced to call
unilaterally. Catalan leaders were imprisoned or
driven into exile, leading Rajoy’s deputy Soraya
Sáenz de Santamaría to boast that they had
“decapitated” the movement. After pro-
independence parties won the December
“regional” elections imposed by Madrid, the state
blocked Carles Puigdemont from returning from
exile to be Catalan president. Furthermore, it
blocked the reappointment of Catalan ministers
for helping hold the referendum. Meanwhile the
courts began persecuting the grassroots
committees (CDRs) set up to defend the process.
Though Sánchez made semi-critical remarks
about the police violence, the leader backed all of
the subsequent authoritarian measures against
the Catalan movement and even recently aired
his view that the law should be tightened against
those unilaterally attempting independence.
The Catalan movement showed in strength on
October 1 — managing successfully (due to the
actions of the CDRs) to keep most of the polling
stations open despite state attacks. It flexed its
muscle again during the general strike two days
later. Yet, since then, it has suffered defeats. One
of the state’s few successes on the day of the vote
was to diminish turnout (by scaring off voters
and confiscating ballot boxes in some areas). A
tactical mistake by the Catalan government
(Generalitat) was not to instruct its own police
force — the Mossos — to disobey legal orders or
encourage supporters to obstruct the Mossos
from entering stations. The force was divided that
day and generally played no role in the violence,
but in some areas their soft approach allowed
ballots to be taken. Consequently the size of the
“yes” votes collected did not confirm to everyone
that the Generalitat had a democratic mandate to
push through independence — even though a
convincing calculation suggested that a majority
had voted in favor of a new state.
This led to difficulties when the Catalan
government moved to declare independence:
first, a significant layer of Catalans that had
mobilized for the referendum and against police
violence peeled away from active protest, unsure
of the movement’s democratic case. Second, for
the first time since the Catalan “sovereignty
process” began, “pro-unionist” forces managed to
mobilize considerable numbers of pro-Spanish
Catalans in street protests.

Sánchez and the Catalan Crisis

Catalans helped Pedro Sánchez become president. How will
he respond?


It’s the best thing for me and for the
Popular Party,
or to put in another way, it is the best for
the Popular Party and for me,
and I think also for Spain
and the rest doesn’t matter.
ith these typically bumbling
words Mariano Rajoy said
goodbye to his seven years
of presidency after losing a
no-confidence motion in
Congress. After many
depressing months in which the new Spanish
right — Ciudadanos (C’s) — had helped push
mainstream politics rightwards, a more
interesting political phase has begun.
The Popular Party (PP) administration has been
replaced by a fragile center-left Socialist Party
(PSOE) government led by Pedro Sánchez. Under
Rajoy, Spain took almost no refugees from the
recent crisis — despite its commitments
otherwise — something that led to big protests.
The new administration has promised to take in
hundreds abandoned by the new anti-immigrant
Italian government, but otherwise there are
plenty of reasons leftists are skeptical about its
intentions.
Under the PP premiership, the Spanish state has
become a target of concern for international
human-rights organizations and leads the world
in imprisoning musicians and other artists. Low
wages have been squeezed, employment made
even more precarious, and welfare provision cut,
making Spain the most unequal large state in the
EU. Two issues were crucial in the Rajoy
downfall. The direct catalyst was the
confirmation of systematic corruption within his
party. Corruption is a major problem that has
persisted from the dark days of Franco and has
brought down previous governments (including a
long-running PSOE administration in the ‘90s).
Under the Popular Party, it reached new
extremes.
In a historic legal verdict weeks ago, the highest
criminal court identified the PP as having run a
“system of institutionalized corruption” — under
the name Gürtel, finding that party chiefs had
operated a system of kickbacks for construction
and other contracts with a particular
businessman for over seven years. Twenty-nine
out of thirty-seven defendants in the case were
given prison sentences — including party
treasurer Luis Bárcenas, who was given thirty-
three years. When the ex-treasurer went to
testify, Rajoy texted him “Luis, be strong.” The
unusually damning legal decision sparked the
decision by Sánchez to table the motion in
Congress that ended Rajoy’s nasty
administration.
Gürtel was not the only PP scandal. Indeed no
less than twelve out of fourteen of the ministers
under Rajoy’s predecessor, José-María Aznar,
have been imprisoned, charged or involved in
corruption cases. And, most comically, the
party’s regional president in Madrid resigned
after it emerged she had faked her university
masters, and a video was leaked of her stealing
face cream from a retail store! Writers associated
with the Instituto de la Democracia y el
Municipalismo maintain that the putrefaction in
the PP has come to surface due to people’s
outrage towards the political class since the 2011
mass square occupations; but also due to score-
settling within an increasingly divided Spanish
right over political strategy and access to power.
The other, less commented on, issue that sealed
Rajoy’s fate was Catalonia. Many observers have
talked about how the new Sánchez
administration may try and pacify the conflict
that exploded over the October 1 referendum, but
much less has been said about how the dispute
itself contributed to overthrowing Rajoy. This is
despite the perceptive pro-Spanish Catalan
journalist Lola García observing that “half of
Spain” is “asking whether Sánchez has proposed
something unspeakable to the secessionists” in
order to guarantee their decisive votes to oust
Rajoy. In order to understand the relationship
between the Catalan struggle and the social-
democratic victory (and therefore what could
happen under Sánchez) it is necessary to chart
how the Catalan movement has developed over
the last year.

Ekiti 2018: INEC disqualifies governorship candidate

INEC has disqualified the governorship candidate of
PPC, Stephen Obasola, ahead of Ekiti July 14 election
- But the party has threatened to take legal action
against the INEC over the disqualification of its
candidate
- The Ekiti state INEC public relations officer, Taiwo
Gbadegesin, however, absolved the commission,
describing the situation as 'a self inflicted injury'
The Independent National Electoral Commission

The Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) has disqualified and expunged the name
of the Providence People’s Congress (PPC)'s
governorship candidate, Stephen Obasola, from
the list of candidates for the July 14 Ekiti state
election.
Premium Times reports that Obasola emerged
through a primary supervised by INEC at the
party’s secretariat located at Okesa area in Ado
Ekiti.
NAIJ.com gathered that the commission, however,
said the PPC flag bearer was “technically

disqualified” from the race.
But the party has threatened to sue the
Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) for disqualifying its governorship
candidate, Stephen Obasola, from the race.
The party's national chairman, Benson Adetona,
while addressing journalists on Monday, June 18,
said the party on May 14 submitted forms CF01
and CF02 to INEC in Abuja in compliance with
the commission’s guidelines.
He wondered why the party would have to be
punished unjustifiably, even when it submitted
the candidate’s name a day earlier than the May
15 stipulated by INEC.
Adetona accused a certain officer in the office of
the INEC national chairman, Mahmood Yakubu,
of playing pranks on the party, by rejecting the
forms earlier listed, on the excuse that they were
not attached with forms EC4 and EC5
He said a petition dated May 18, was forwarded
to Yakubu when it appeared that the commission
was not wiling to address the problem, but no
response has been received from the commission
on the petition.
“The fact that the name of our candidate was listed by
INEC as one of the 40 contenders that were acknowledged
from Ekiti office of INEC showed that our primary was free,
fair and credible, because our party operates like a family.
There is no division,” Adetona.
“When we took forms CF01 and CF02 to the INEC Electoral
Party Monitoring Department in Abuja, the officer detailed
for the collection said they have to be attached with forms
EC 4 and EC 5.
“But we told him the submission lapsed on May 15. He
convinced us that we should not mind , that we can come
on May 17 or 18 because of our peculiar situation.
“We got there on May 17 only for the same staff to reject
our form. We were referred to heads of Legal Department
and Electoral Party Monitoring , but nothing was done.
“We viewed this action as a serious infringement on our
fundamental rights to have a candidate in Ekiti election.
And this was a setback to our electoral system. Election can
only be deemed to be free and fair when INEC is fair to all
parties.
“As things stand now, we have no option than to seek legal
redress in court to ensure that our candidate participates in
this election”, he said.
However, the Ekiti state INEC public relations
officer, Taiwo Gbadegesin, absolved INEC,
describing the situation as “a self inflicted injury.”
“Submission of candidates is done by the party, so PPC
executive should be blamed for submitting the name of
candidate late. I want to believe that INEC as an arbiter
can’t disqualify candidate without a justifiable reason. PPC

must look inward to settle its problems,” he explained.

Kano 2019: How to ensure peaceful elections - Emir Sanusi

- Emir Muhammad Sanusi II has suggested ways a
violence free election can be achieved
- The Emir urged the Kano state governor to address
political leaders in the state
- According to Sanusi II such move will help develop a
framework for a peaceful election in 2019

The Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi ll, has
called on the Kano state governor, Abdullahi
Ganduje to address political leaders in the state.
Sanusi said a meeting of political leaders should
be called by the governor to help develop a
framework for peaceful election in the state in
2019, premium Times reports.
Speaking on Sunday, June 17, at the Hawan
Nassarawa Durbar, the Emir appealed to the
governor to invite all political stakeholders over

conducting a violence free election.
He said: “We have a single request to the governor on
security. We are appealing to governor to invite all state
chairmen of political parties to work out how to conduct
violence-free elections.
“People should also understand that calling politicians
under one umbrella for the purpose of putting things in
good shape doesn’t mean calling people to switch over to
other political parties. This is not what we are saying. We
only need people with good character to be piloting the
conduct and affairs of our political parties,” the Emir
said.
Sanusi also called for vigilance and healthy
lifestyle as a means to ending drug abuse in the
state.
In his response, Ganduje said the state
government would partner with the media in
Kano, especially radio and television stations to
work against hate speeches in political

programmes.
The governor said: “We are putting in place an effective
mechanism to check unwanted political behaviours. That is
why we have in the pipeline a plan to include media
practitioners, especially from radio and television stations
to see how they can help our society through cleansing all
media contents against hate speeches.”
“We will continue doing our best in curtailing such hate
speeches that are not good but detrimental to democratic

development.

Gani Adams calls for South-West security summit to tackle herdsmen attacks

Adams says governors in south-west have not tackled
the killer herdsmen menace well apart from Ekiti
governor Ayodele Fayose
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- He disagrees that the killers are the traditional
Fulani herdsmen that Yorubas have known for ages,
saying the intruders are trained militants
- He notes that stakeholders in the South-West are
watching the killer herdsmen's attacks closely and
strongly believe they are planned and not just random

he Aare Ona Kankanfo of Yorubaland Gani
Adams has revealed plans to call for a security
summit for all stakeholders in the South-Western
part of Nigeria in order to tackle herdsmen
invasion.
Adams told Nigerian Tribune in an interview that
he has suggested writing letters for a gathering
of stakeholders to fashion out a strategy to keep
intruders out of Yoruba communities.
The leader of the Oodua Peoples Congress said
the activities of the herdsmen across the country
is raising some suspicions and the South-West
has not taken enough actions against them

except in Ekiti.

He noted that state governors in the region have
to act fast because they have a mandate from the
people to protect.their lives and properties.
"We are studying the political situation of the country and
then if you don’t forget after I was installed, the Fulani
herdsmen became more rampant in the South-West. So, I
had to issue a statement regarding that, calling the
president’s attention to it and the situation came down
drastically.
"But for about few weeks now, we have had some incidents,
especially when some herdsmen waylaid people on the way,
killing them and I have had some calls from key
stakeholders. I told them the issue of security is a sensitive
one and that if it is not properly coordinated, there will be
trouble."
He added: "You are calling me as Aare Onakakanfo, but I
cannot be involved in any community security without the
involvement and support of the government of that state. It
has to be highly coordinated so that you don’t run yourself

into troubles.
Every community is with its own culture and mode of
operations. They also have their security modus operandi. I
cannot stay in Lagos and just dictate the way it should go.
It is only when I have their cooperation and they need my
attention on the basis of supporting them.
"I suggested that I will write letters to all the governors and
chairmen of Council of Obas in each state and some
stakeholders for a South-West security summit, which will
fashion out the ways of solving the problem of intruders in

our communities."

2019: Orji Kalu shuns bossom friend Lamido for President Buhari

-Orji Kalu says he will vote for President Buhari in
2019 over his close friend and PDP aspirant Sule
Lamido
- The former Abia governor said he could not 'worship
2 gods at the same' and will choose Buhari instead
- He also accused his friend of not telling him about
his presidential ambition while President Buhari did

Former Jigawa state governor and presidential
aspirant of the PDP Sule Lamido has lost the
valuable support of his bossom friend, former
Abia state governor Orji Uzor Kalu, to President
Muhammadu Buhari.
Nigerian Tribune reports that Orji Kalu who paid
a visit to Jigawa state at the weekend told his
good friend that while he cherishes their
relationship, his vote was for President Buhari.
“Although Alhaji Sule Lamido happens to be my bosom
friend and an aspirant for Nigeria’s president in PDP, I told
him I won’t vote for him against president Muhammad

Buhari.
“President Buhari is my presidential candidate that I will
support and vote for in 2019 because he is my party
member and informed me about his ambition. My friend
Lamido did not inform me.
“Alhaji Sule Lamido is my good friend, the difference in
political parties will never affect our relationship. As you
can see, we ate, we drank together and we joked, " Orji
said after meeting Lamido behind closed doors.
On its part, Premium Times quoted Kalu as
saying: “We are good friends but I can’t worship two
gods at the same time. You didn’t even inform me formally
that you are contesting the way President Buhari informed

me.
don’t have anything against Sule Lamido. As you can see,
I’m here with him at his house eating and relaxing. If not
because of the dinner arranged for me at Dutse, I could

have slept here in his house.”