Meritxell Borràs: "They want to scare us because what we've done is perfectly legal"

The Minister of Governance, Meritxell Borràs, has been in the headlines this week. She was served the Prosecutor's complaint over the purchase of ballot boxes by a secretary of the TSJC in the government’s office.

Antoni Bassas
3 min

BarcelonaThe Minister of Governance Meritxell Borràs (l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, 1964) was in the spotlight this week. A secretary of the TSJC delivered the Prosecutor's complaint to the Generalitat itself over the purchase of ballot boxes, which she refuses to confirm are for voting in the referendum on independence. But she has also quarreled with the Minister of Foreign Affairs over who is more responsible at this time for the fact that votes of Catalan expats are still not guaranteed on 1 October.

Will the complaint against you for the purchase of the ballot boxes have a political impact on the referendum preparations?

I think that what they are doing, in my view, is they want to provoke a climate of fear, because strictly speaking what we have done is perfectly legal. And so it has no other purpose than to say "Watch what you do because it could have consequences". What's more, what we have done is to approve companies that could supply ballot boxes. There has been no expenditure nor any public funds committed, and as a government purchasing ballot boxes is well within our purview.

What the written complaint says is that the ballots have no other purpose than to be used for the secession referendum. They're not wrong about that, are they?

Ballot boxes are for voting. We have the power to hold elections to the Catalan Parliament, to hold consultations, to hold negotiated referendums, so...

Is the prosecutor's strategy of intimidation towards the ballot box manufacturers working? What are the suppliers saying to you?

I couldn't say if there are companies that have refrained from bidding because they have felt intimidated, but as there are those who have bid, our approval process is working.

At the moment of truth, when the Generalitat purchases the ballot boxes, who will do it? You? The President? Vice president Junqueras?

This is an item that still has to be resolved, but I believe we will do it, it doesn't concern me much.

I'm surprised that when you say that everything is almost ready you don't know who will buy the ballot boxes.

I don't believe that it's necessary to explain everything. One explains what one deems appropriate.

So you're saying, you know how you’ll do it...

You and everybody else must understand that this is an area in which the Government has stated its commitment publicly. From that point I think that all the details together could be somewhat interesting, but the important thing is the result. We don't need to make things more difficult for ourselves, because sometimes explaining things causes complaints that we could avoid.

Is the legal action being brought about by the independence process evenly shared within your government?

I don't think it's about sharing. What is certain is that the commitment of PDECat people is absolute. Nobody can question that.

Will Catalan expats get to vote?

Strictly speaking, as in all countries, voting abroad is the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We are concerned about the worries that people who want to vote from abroad have, as they've had problems in doing so on past occasions. The key factor here is the electoral roll. As it stands today, the Spanish government is not willing to share it with us. As such, the closest that we currently have to a register is the census of Catalans abroad. Nowadays we have around 5,000 people signed up, whereas more than 200,000 people are living abroad. This is the most concerning thing.

Is it too soon to give guarantees that Catalans abroad will be able to vote?

I'm sure that the Government wants to offer them guarantees, just as it does with all other Catalans.

On the day when the Parliament formally calls the referendum, the central government will likely unleash a huge legal onslaught against those who have voted for this law. Do you think that there will have to be public rallies to protect the voting on that day?

I'd say it's the other way around. The fact that we're not allowed to vote in Parliament for what the majority has demanded will surely outrage many people, and there might be people who want to express that in a peaceful way, as has always been the case in Catalonia with demonstrations or on the streets.

Can Xavier Domènech, the Comuns leader, be persuaded that 1 October will not be just another 9-N with greater intensity and confrontation?

I believe that, at the moment of truth, the members of En Comú will have to decide whether they side with the Spanish government, which will not allow us to vote, or with the vast majority of people in this country, who wish to decide their own future. And so they should use the terminology and the expressions which they feel most comfortable with.

And if a "No" vote wins, we’ll have a snap regional election, as President Puigdemont said?

Clearly. Above all, we believe in democracy, and the result of the vote will prevail.

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