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Republican Left of Catalonia Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | ERC |
| President | Oriol Junqueras |
| Secretary-General | Elisenda Alamany |
| Founded | 19 March 1931 |
| Merger of | Estat Català Catalan Republican Party L'Opinió |
| Headquarters | C/Calàbria, 166 08015Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain |
| Youth wing | Republican Youth |
| Membership(2024) |  8,335[1] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-left toleft-wing |
| National affiliation | Ahora Repúblicas (since 2019)[nb 1] Left for Independence (since 2023) |
| European affiliation | European Free Alliance |
| European Parliament group | Greens–European Free Alliance |
| International affiliation | Régions et Peuples Solidaires |
| Colours | Orange |
| Congress of Deputies (Catalan seats) | 7 / 47 |
| Spanish Senate (Catalan seats) | 4 / 24 |
| European Parliament (Spanish seats) | 1 / 61 |
| Parliament of Catalonia | 20 / 135 |
| Parliament of the Balearic Islands | 0 / 59 |
| Mayors in Catalonia | 329 / 947 |
| Town councillors in Catalonia | 2,898 / 9,077 |
| Town councillors in the Balearic Islands | 16 / 925 |
| Website | |
| esquerra.cat | |
TheRepublican Left of Catalonia (Catalan:Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya[əsˈkɛrərəpuβliˈkanəðəkətəˈluɲə],ERC; generically branded asEsquerra Republicana)[2] is apro-Catalan independence,social democraticpolitical party in the Spanishautonomous community ofCatalonia, with a presence also inValencia, theBalearic Islands and the French department ofPyrénées-Orientales (Northern Catalonia).[3][4] It is also the main sponsor of the movement for independence fromFrance andSpain in the territories known asCatalan Countries, focusing in recent years on the creation of aCatalan Republic in Catalonia-proper.
ERC members sit in the unicameral Catalan Parliament, which exercises devolved powers within Spain. The party also contests and wins elections for seats in both houses of the SpanishCortes Generales (the national parliament), as well as theEuropean Parliament, where it sits as a member of theEuropean Free Alliance. In 2022, ERC had 9,047 members.[5] It is headquartered inBarcelona. Currently, its president isOriol Junqueras and its secretary-general isElisenda Alamany.[6]
ERC was founded almost 100 years ago, and has counted amongst its leadersFrancesc Macià,Lluís Companys andJosep Tarradellas. ERC played an important role in Catalan and Spanish politics during theSecond Republic, theSpanish Civil War, as part of theanti-Francoistresistance, and in Spain'stransition to democracy. After a difficult period in the 1980s, it recovered a key electoral position during the 2000s, becoming a coalition partner in various Catalan governments. In 2021, an ERC member won the presidency of Catalonia for the first time since 1980, with the appointment of lawyerPere Aragonès asPresident of the Generalitat de Catalunya (President of the Catalan Government).
After the fall ofPrimo de Rivera (1930), the Catalan left made great efforts to create a united front under the leadership of left-wing independentist leader Francesc Macià. The Republican Left of Catalonia was founded at the Conference of the Catalan Left (held inSants, Barcelona, on 19 March 1931) as the union of the independentistEstat Català (Catalan State), led byFrancesc Macià, theCatalan Republican Party, led byLluís Companys, and theL'Opinió Group ofJoan Lluhí i Vallescà.
The party did extremely well in the municipal elections of 12 April 1931.[7] Two days later, on 14 April, few hours before the proclamation of the Spanish Republic inMadrid, Macià proclaimed inBarcelona theCatalan Republic within the Iberian Federation. This was not exactly what had been agreed in thePact of San Sebastián, so three days later they negotiated with the Madrid government that Macià would becomePresident of the Generalitat of Catalonia, an autonomous Catalan government within the recently foundedSpanish Republic.[8]
In September 1932, the Spanish Republican Cortes approved theStatute of Autonomy of Catalonia which, among other provisions, granted aCatalan Parliament with broad legislative powers, andit was elected on 20 November 1932. The Republican Left of Catalonia, in coalition with theSocialist Union of Catalonia and other minor left-wing parties, won a large majority of seats (67 of 85), while the previously hegemonicRegionalist League, representing a more conservative view of Catalan nationalism, came in second place but far behind ERC (17 from 85).[9] From this strong position, the ERC through the Catalan Government sought to improve living conditions of the popular classes and the petite bourgeoisie, approving laws in areas such as in culture, health, education and civil law. The Catalan Government also progressed theCrop Contracts Law, which sought to protect tenant farmers and grant them access to the land they were cultivating; it was contested by the Regionalist League and provoked a legal dispute with the Spanish government. In October 1933, Joan Lluhí and other members of the l'Opinió Group, as wellJosep Tarradellas, withdrew from the ERC due to disagreement with Macià over the distribution of powers between theExecutive Council of Catalonia and the President of the Generalitat; they founded theNationalist Republican Left Party (PNRE).[10]
Francesc Macià died in office in December 1933 and Lluís Companys was elected by the Parliament of Catalonia as the new President of the Generalitat. On 6 October 1934, following the appointment of right-wing members of theSpanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (CEDA) as ministers in the Government of the Spanish Republic, Companys unlawfully declared aCatalan State "within a Spanish Federal Republic" (which, of course, did not at that time exist). CEDA was considered close to fascism and, therefore, it was feared that the ministers' appointment was a first step toward suppressing the autonomy of Catalonia and taking complete power nationally. The nascent Catalan 'state' was quickly suppressed by the Spanish Army, and members of the Catalan government were arrested.[11] Party leaders (including Companys himself) and Catalan officials were tried by the Supreme Court of the Republic, receiving jail sentences, while theStatute of Autonomy of Catalonia was suspended (until February 1936).
In 1936, at the dawn of theSpanish Civil War, ERC became part of thePopular Front to contestthat year's election. Esquerra became the leading force of the Popular Front, (calledFront d'Esquerres, "Left Front" in Catalan) in Catalonia, which it won 41 from 54 Catalan seats, 21 of them belonging to ERC.[12] The new left-wing Spanish government pardoned Companys and the members of the Catalan government, restoring the self-government. In June 1936, Estat Català split from ERC, while the PNRE rejoined it.
During the Spanish Civil War, ERC, as the leading force of the Generalitat, tried to maintain the unity of the Front in the face of growing tensions between theWorkers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM) and the pro-SovietUnified Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSUC), while struggled to recover the control of the situation, de facto controlled by the anarchist trade union CNT and their militias, and attempted to organize the war efforts in Catalonia. President Companys appointed Josep TarradellasConseller Primer (Prime Minister) in order to form a coalition government with the other Republican forces, including anarchists and communists. However, the party unsuccessfully tried to avoid the full control of Catalonia by the Republican government, enacted after theMay Days event.
The party was declared illegal (along with all other participants in thePopular Front) byFrancisco Franco after he came to power in 1939. The former president of the CatalanGeneralitat,Lluís Companys, was arrested byNazi German agents[13] in collaboration withVichy France, returned to Spain and executed on 15 October 1940 inMontjuïc Castle, Barcelona.[14]
Since 1939, despite the weak situation of the party, almost disbanded after theFrancoist occupation of Catalonia, ERC went underground and tried to organizeanti-fascist resistance around Manuel Juliachs and Jaume Serra. In 1945, the ERC Congress, held inToulouse since many ERC members lived in exile in France, appointed former MinisterJosep Tarradellas as Secretary General, a position he left in 1954 when he was elected President of the Generalitat of Catalonia in exile, replacingJosep Irla. The office of General Secretary of ERC then passed to Joan Sauret. At the end ofWorld War II, in view of a possible overthrow of Francoist Dictatorship with the intervention of the Allied forces, the direction of ERC in exile sent to CataloniaPere Puig and Joan Rodríguez-Papasseit. During those years ERC was present at the Council of Catalan Democracy and the Council of Democratic Forces. In 1952,Heribert Barrera returned to the interior and assumes the direction of the partyde facto. On 11 September 1964, theNational Day of Catalonia, ERC and other groups organized the first anti-Franco demonstration since the end of the war. ERC participated successively in any initiative that confronts the Dictatorship.
After the death of General Franco (1975), ERC celebrated in July 1976 the 8th National Congress, in which Barrera was confirmed as leader. In the election to Constituent Cortes of 1977, ERC went into coalition, as it was not yet legalized because of its status as a Republican party. ERC had requested registration in the register of political parties on 14 March of that year, but the Ministry of Interior - a month after the elections - responded: "The name proposed by the entity, referring to a political system incompatible with the one that is legally valid in Spain, can represent an assumption of inadmissibility ".[15] The party tried a coalition with Left Front or with Democratic Convergence, although finally it allied with theParty of Labour of Spain. The name of the electoral coalition wasLeft of Catalonia–Democratic Electoral Front (Esquerra de Catalunya-Front Electoral Democràtic). The coalition won a seat (Barrera). Some of the electoral promises were the Statute of Autonomy or a referendum about the Monarchy.
In October 1977, PresidentJosep Tarradellas (a founder of the party in 1931) returned to Catalonia and the Generalitat was restored. A new text of the Statute was drafted, which ERC opposed because it did not guarantee a minimum self-government. However, in the referendum for its approval, in 1979, ERC was in favour, as it was the only way to regain autonomy. In thefirst election to the restored Parliament of Catalonia, in 1980, ERC obtained 14 seats (out of a total of 135), which brought Barrera to the Presidency of the Parliament of Catalonia. At the crossroads of forming a tripartite with thePSUC and the socialists or favouringConvergència i Unió (CiU), Barrera—refractory to alliances with parties from a Marxist tradition—determined ERC would voteJordi Pujol (CiU) as president of the Generalitat without compensation and without joining the government, as a gesture of "national unity".[16] In 1984, however, ERC only obtained five deputies, and began a brief period of decline, overshadowed by the hegemony of the center-right Catalan nationalist coalition CiU. This trend persisted during the next years. In 1986, it lost its presence in the Spanish Cortes.
In 1987, the National Call manifesto was published, signed by personalities likeÀngel Colom andJosep-Lluís Carod-Rovira, who wanted ERC to bring together the new generation of independentists that aroses as a result of the disenchantment with the Spanish Transition. The entrance of these young people dynamizes the party, and in theCatalan election of 1988 obtained six seats. In 1989 a new direction led by Àngel Colom assumed the independence of Catalonia as a political aim. As a result of this new orientation, in 1990, theNational Front of Catalonia, a historic organization founded in exile in 1940, joined ERC. In 1991, the organizationTerra Lliure reconsidered its strategy, and abandoned the armed struggle, where some of its members joined ERC and many of those who formedCatalunya Lliure were incorporated too. These facts turned ERC, de facto, into the reference of the left-wing Catalan independentism.
The results obtained in the1992 election to the Parliament of Catalonia placed ERC as the third political force of Catalonia, with the support of more than 210,000 voters and the obtaining of 11 seats, after a campaign in which, for the first time a party that appeared as a pro-independence party was widely popular. The 18th National Congress of ERC, held in June 1992, approved the reform of its statutes in the face of electoral growth, militancy and territorial presence. ERC advocates in its first statutory article the territorial unity and independence of theCatalan Countries, building its own state within the European framework and together with an ideological position of the left that takes the defense of democracy and environment, human rights and rights of the peoples, and based its ideology and political action on social progress and solidarity.
In the1993 Spanish general election, ERC recovered its presence in the Congress of Deputies. The same year,Jordi Carbonell andAvel·lí Artís i Gener "Tísner",Left Nationalists members, joined ERC.[17] The local elections of 28 May 1995 represented an important quantitative and qualitative leap of the institutional presence of the party. ERC recovered the presence in many local councils of Catalonia, reaching more than 550 elected councillors and 32 mayors, and thus becomes the third municipal political force. In the1995 Catalan election, ERC obtained the best result in number of votes since the Republic era, more than 305,000 voters and 13 seats.
In 1996, after a serious internal crisis, Àngel Colom, along withPilar Rahola left the party and founded theIndependence Party.[18] This party, however, had a short life. In the local elections of 1999, they obtained poor results and Pilar Rahola, who presented himself as head of the list in Barcelona, did not obtain a seat. After that, the party was dissolved.
In November 1996, the 21st National Congress of ERC was held. The militants chose a new direction for the party, withJosep Lluís Carod-Rovira as new president and Joan Puigcercós as new general secretary. The new direction announced some changes on the strategy: it does not renounce the independence of Catalonia, but it stops using that idea as the only reference. The new direction wanted to place the party as the new reference of the Catalan left.
On 16 November 2003, in theelection to the Parliament of Catalonia, ERC obtained 23 seats, becoming the "key party" that would define the composition of the government, since to obtain the majority the other parties were obliged to agree with ERC. After several weeks in which it seemed that he would close an agreement with CiU (center-right and nationalist party), it finally opted for a "progressive pact" (called the Pact of the Tinell or popularly the "Tripartit") with theSocialists' Party of Catalonia and the ecosocialist coalitionICV-EUiA.
ERC became part of the tripartite government of the Generalitat, chaired by the socialistPasqual Maragall, assuming six government departments, among which the "Conseller en Cap" (Prime Minister), belonging to Carod-Rovira. The other five ministries assumed by ERC were Education (Josep Bargalló), Welfare and Family (Anna Simó), Commerce, Tourism and Consumption (Pere Esteve), Government and Public Administration (Joan Carretero) and Universities, Research and Information Society (Carles Solà). In addition, another ERC leader,Ernest Benach, was elected President of the Parliament.
Despite having been one of the main forces behind the movement for amendment, the party eventually opposed the 2006 changes to theCatalan Statute of Autonomy to increase Catalonia's autonomy. It did so on the grounds that it did not do enough to increase Catalan self-government. This caused a government crisis with its partners (specially with the PSC) which led to anearly election in 2006.[citation needed]
After 2006, the three original coalition partners remade the coalition, this time led by the socialistJosé Montilla who became President of the Generalitat on 28 November of that year. This time the coalition was significantly more stable and it was voted out of powerin 2010, given the coalition's poor management of the2008 Great Recession andSpanish housing market crash.
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On 27 June 2010, theSpanish Constitutional Court published the ruling on the 2006 Catalan Statute of Autonomy. The ruling slashed significant parts of the text and made the law voted and passed by the Catalan public in areferendum null and void.[19] This, alongside the growing instability brought by the 2008 financial crisis, fueled a growingindependence movement in the country. After the party's poor results in the2010 Catalan election and an electoral domination by the center-rightCiU, then PresidentArtur Mas called for a snap vote to receive a mandate to pursue independence.[20] In this election, celebratedin 2012, ERC achieved a historical feat and beat thePSC in seats and became the second-largest party in the Catalan Parliament running on a purely pro-independence platform.[21]
After this, CiU and ERC, two of the three pro-independence parties in the Catalan Parliament, articulated a majority to form aCiU minority government with the explicit mandate to organize a non-binding referendum.[22] This materialized in 2014 with what was then called theProcés Participatiu 9N (in English:Participative Process November 9th) which was ruled illegal by Spanish Courts.[23] The pro-independence option won this non-binding popular inquiry by a large margin, given with little-to-no turnout by unionist voters.[24]
Despite these results, theSpanish government refused to approve a binding and legal referendum on independence and the pro-independence movement pushed for a unitary candidacy in another snap election. This snap election was considered to be a plebiscite on independence and a legal way to ask the Catalan people about the issue without needing the Spanish Government's permission.[25] ERC led the coalition talks, often as a bridge between the center-rightCDC and the far-leftCUP, which had significant disagreements. In the end, the CUP contested the election alone and the pro-independence unitary coalition was formed only by CDC, ERC and some pro-independence factions of the PSC,ICV,UDC.[26] The name given to this coalition, which also integrated many non-politicians, wasJunts pel Sí (in English:Together for the Yes). After the2015 catalan election, Junts pel Sí emerged victorious with 62 seats, 37 more than the second-most voted option. Among these, ERC and ERC-alligned independents held 21 seats. However, the coalition came 6 seats short of a majority and needed the CUP's 10 seats' support to form government.[27]
After arduous coalition talks, the CUP allowed the formation of aCDC-ERC coalition government on the condition that Artur Mas, the until-then de facto leader of the Procés stepped aside.[28] This permitted the investiture ofCarles Puigdemont and the return of ERC to government, 5 years after the loss of the leftist tripartite coalition. ERC had 5 cabinet members and its leader,Oriol Junqueras, becameVicepresident of the Generalitat.[29]This new government assumed the task of organizing a binding independence referendum before 2018. Tasks started right away, always with fierce opposition from both the Spanish Courts and the Spanish Central Government.
The 9th of June of 2017, President Puigdemont accompanied by ERC's leader Vicepresident Junqueras unveiled the date and question ofthe referendum, which was set to take place October 1st 2017, with or without the permission of the Spanish Government.[30] This prompted a reaction by the Spanish Courts, which declared the referendum illegal and issued warrants to stop the vote by any means necessary. Ballot boxes and ballots were targeted, Catalan Government offices were raided, websites were expropriated and pro-independence civil leaders were jailed.[31]
These actions were unsuccessful in stopping the vote and the referendum was held as scheduled. Both theSpanish National Police and theGuardia Civil were sent to physically stop Catalan citizens from voting, some coming to Catalonia from elsewhere in Spain chanting "a por ellos" (english: "let's get them").[32] This resulted in a violent crackdown by the Spanish Police on voters, many of which sustaining injuries.[33] Despite this, many votes were counted and the pro-independence option won by a landslide, again with a boycott by unionist voters.[34] Subsequently, the Catalan Government presented a motion on independence on the 27th of October of 2017 in the Catalan Parliament, which passed.[35] This declaration however was never published in theOfficial Diary of the Generalitat de Catalunya and, years later, pro-independence leaders would qualify it as "symbolic".[36]
After this declaration, theSpanish Senate passed the application of the 155th article of theSpanish Constitution, which suspended Catalan autonomy and forcefully removed from office the sitting Catalan Government.[37] Additionally, all Catalan government members which stayed on Spanish soil were jailed, including Vicepresident Oriol Junqueras and the rest of ERC's cabinet members.[38] The Spanish Government called for anothersnap election in December 2017 to restore Catalan self-rule.[39]
ERC, without a free leader, chose to still run the jailed Oriol Junqueras while the General Secretary of the party,Marta Rovira, assumed his functions both organically and institutionally.[40] This resulted on a third place with 32 seats, a historical high sinceSpain's return to democracy. Pro-independence parties renewed their absolute majority and ERC andJunts per Catalunya, CDC's heir, formed a coalition government with the CUP's external support.[41][42]
Before this renewed coalition could assume power, Marta Rovira was also involved in the Referendum judicial case and came under serious threat of being jailed. Given this, she chose exile to Switzerland.[43]Pere Aragonès, former leader of theYoung Republican Left of Catalonia, became vicepresident of the Generalitat representing ERC, with Junts per Catalunya'sQuim Torra assuming the presidency.[44] ERC appointed 7 cabinet members, most notably theCatalan Health Minister. This cabinet led Catalonia, which has competences over heath policy, through thepandemic. ERC'sAlba Vergés, as Health Minister, held a significant leadership position.[45] The cabinet's pandemic management was considered successful, albeit on the restrictive side.
On September 28th 2020, theSupreme Court of Spain ratified Quim Torra's inhabilitation due to his disobedience in not removing a banner in support to the Catalan jailed politicians from the Palau de la Generalitat.[46] He was subsequently forcefully removed from power and the Vicepresident of the Generalitat, ERC's Pere Aragonès, became interim president.[47] This was the first time since theSecond Spanish Republic that a member of Republican Left of Catalonia assumed the powers of the presidency.
In 2021,a new Catalan election was held, the first one on schedule since 2010. In this election ERC surpassedJunts and became the largest pro-independence party in the chamber, even tying for first place in seats with a resurgent PSC.[48] Pro-independence parties renewed their majority in seats, and for the first time in history, in votes.[49] This led to coalition talks, which resulted in a ERC led pro-independence government with Junts as a junior partner and the CUP's external support. In May 2021, Pere Aragonès became the first ERC President of the Generalitat since 1978.[50]
In October 2022, after less than 2 years, the coalition fell through and Junts left the Catalan executive leading to a widespread government restructuring and leaving ERC as the sole party in power in the country.[51] This minority government struggled to pass legislation, and most notably, to approve a budget. Despite this, they started many legislative processes, such as the National Agreement for the Language, the Statute of Rural Municipalities and the Neighbourhoods and Towns Plan, however, none of these came to fruition during the government's tenure.[52]In the end, in March 2024, following the fall-through of negotiations with theComuns for the approval of the 2024 budget, President Aragonès resigned and called for a snap election for April of that same year.[53]
In theMay 2024 election, ERC lost 13 seats and became the third largest party in the Catalan Parliament, losing the Presidency of the Generalitat. Pro-independence parties fell short of a majority for the first time since 2012 and the coalition that had governed the country for 12 years became impossible.[54]
After a few months of negotiations, ERC supportedSalvador Illa's candidacy to become President of the Generalitat alongsideComuns Sumar.[55] This support was given in exchange for major advances in Catalonia's sovereignty and self-rule, most notably afederalized tax system, as well as the PSC's explicit commitment to the defence of Catalonia's status as a nation and the Catalan language.[56] This agreement was later ratified by the PSOE as well, ensuring support in the Spanish Congress.[57]
In August 2024, the PSC formed its first minority government in history, however with external support from its traditional partners of the tripartite leftist coalition, the largest of which is ERC.[58] As of December 2025, ERC and the PSC have failed to reach an agreement regarding budget because none of the major concessions to Catalonia promised by the PSC have yet been realized.[59] Despite this, both party's relationship is considered 'in good health' given the PSC efforts to fulfill the promises it made to the republicans.[60]
The party has been described historically associal democratic and more recently asdemocratic socialist.[61][62][63] ERC is a strong supporter ofCatalan independence,[64] as well as beingregionalist,[64]Catalan nationalist,[65][66]eco-nationalist,[67] andleft-wing nationalist.[68][69] Additionally, it advocates forrepublicanism[70][71] andregionalism,[64] and has afederalist faction.[72][73][74] It is acatch-all/big tent party[75] in nature, and is generally positioned ascentre-left[76][77][78][79] toleft-wing.[80][81][82]
ERC is also considered to befeminist,pro-immigration,pro-LGBTQIA+ rights,environmentalist,municipalist,pro-European,anti-racist,anti-colonialist andanti-fascist.[83][84]
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Its basic political principles are defined in the Statement of Ideology approved at the 19th National Congress in 1993. This is organised into the three areas that give the organisation its name:Esquerra (commitment to the Left's agenda in the political, economic and social debate),República (commitment to the Republican form of government vs. Spain's currentconstitutional monarchy) andCatalunya (Catalan independentism, which, as understood by ERC, comprises theCatalan Countries).[85]
The party is also federated with parties in theBalearic Islands and inNorthern Catalonia in France, as well as withRepublican Left of the Valencian Country in theValencian Community. Except for their Balearic counterpart, none of the latter currently have any parliamentary representation in their respective territories, though they do have eight municipal councillors in the Balearic Islands[86] and six councillors in the Valencian Community.[86]Occitan Republican Left, formed in 2008, acts as theAranese section of the party.
The Republican Left of Catalonia is the oldest political party in Catalan politics that has supported the idea of a sovereign Catalan nation for the entirety of its existence. From the inception of ERC in 1931, they have always been in favor ofstatehood for Catalonia.[87]
After the lastCatalan parliamentary election in 2024, the Republican Left of Catalonia has 20 seats in theParliament of Catalonia, making it the third largest in the chamber. Until 2010, it was one of the three coalition members of the tripartite left-wingCatalan Government, together withSocialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC) andInitiative for Catalonia Greens (ICV). The coalition was often uneasy due to tensions related to the newStatute of Autonomy of Catalonia. They governed Catalonia during theprocés period alongsideJunts, and held thepresidency between 2021 and 2023. Since 2024 they are considered eitherpreferential partners orconfidence and supply[88] toSalvador Illa's cabinet, givent that it was the support of their 20 seats inParliament (alongsideComuns Sumar's) which permitted the PSC to form aminority government. Out of Catalonia, it has seven seats in theSpanish Parliament, six seats in theSenate (where they sit together with thebasqueEH Bildu) and one seat in theEuropean Parliament.
| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Secretary-General (Tenure) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Duration | ||||
 | Francesc Macià (1859–1933) | 22 February 1931 | 25 December 1933 | 2 years and 306 days | Joan Lluís Pujol(1931–1931) | |
| Josep Tarradellas(1931–1932) | ||||||
| Joan Tauler (1932–1938) | ||||||
 | Lluís Companys (1882–1940) | 25 December 1933 | 6 October 1934 | 285 days | ||
| Carles Pi i Sunyer (1888–1971) | 6 October 1934 | 11 May 1936 | 1 year and 218 days | |||
| Lluís Companys (1882–1940) | 11 May 1936 | 15 October 1940 | 4 years and 157 days | ||
| Josep Tarradellas (1938–1957) | ||||||
| Joan Sauret(1957–1976) | ||||||
| Heribert Barrera(1976–1987) | ||||||
| Joan Hortalà(1987–1989) | ||||||
| Àngel Colom(1989–1996) | ||||||
.jpg) | Heribert Barrera (1917–2011) | 15 December 1991 | 10 July 1995 | 3 years and 207 days | ||
| Jaume Campabadal (1924–2016) | 10 July 1995 | 24 November 1996 | 1 year and 137 days | |||
.jpg) | Jordi Carbonell (1924–2016) | 24 November 1996 | 4 July 2004 | 7 years and 223 days | Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira (1996–2004) | |
.jpg) | Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira (born 1952) | 4 July 2004 | 7 June 2008 | 3 years and 339 days | Joan Puigcercós (2004–2008) | |
.jpg) | Joan Puigcercós (born 1966) | 7 June 2008 | 17 September 2011 | 3 years and 102 days | Joan Ridao (2008–2011) | |
.jpg) | Oriol Junqueras (born 1969) | 17 September 2011 | Incumbent | 14 years and 151 days | Marta Rovira (2011–2024) | |
| Elisenda Alamany (2024–present) | ||||||
| Parliament of Catalonia | ||||||
| Election | Leading candidate | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | Francesc Macià | 224,800 | 47.10 (#1) | 56 / 85 | — | Majority |
| Francoist dictatorship | ||||||
| 1980 | Heribert Barrera | 240,871 | 8.90 (#5) | 14 / 135 | — | Confidence and supply |
| 1984 | 126,943 | 4.41 (#5) | 5 / 135 |  9 | Coalition(1984–1987) | |
| Opposition(1987–1988) | ||||||
| 1988 | Joan Hortalà | 111,647 | 4.14 (#5) | 6 / 135 |  1 | Opposition |
| 1992 | Àngel Colom | 210,366 | 7.96 (#3) | 11 / 135 | 5 | Opposition |
| 1995 | 305,867 | 9.49 (#4) | 13 / 135 | 2 | Opposition | |
| 1999 | Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira | 271,173 | 8.67 (#4) | 12 / 135 | 1 | Opposition |
| 2003 | 544,324 | 16.44 (#3) | 23 / 135 | 11 | Coalition(2003–2006) | |
| Opposition(2006) | ||||||
| 2006 | 416,355 | 14.03 (#3) | 21 / 135 | 2 | Coalition | |
| 2010 | Joan Puigcercós | 219,173 | 7.00 (#5) | 10 / 135 | 11 | Opposition |
| 2012 | Oriol Junqueras | WithinERC–CatSí | 19 / 135 | 9 | Confidence and supply | |
| 2015 | Oriol Junqueras[a] | WithinJxSí | 24 / 135 | 5 | Coalition | |
| 2017 | Oriol Junqueras[b] | WithinERC–CatSí | 30 / 135 | 6 | Coalition | |
| 2021 | Pere Aragonès | 605,529 | 21.29 (#2) | 33 / 135 | 3 | Coalition(2021–2022) |
| Minority(2022–2024) | ||||||
| 2024 | 431,128 | 13.66 (#3) | 20 / 135 | 13 | Confidence and supply | |
| Parliament of the Balearic Islands | |||||||
| Election | Votes | % | # | Seats | +/– | Leading candidate | Status in legislature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 2,082 | 0.55% | 7th | 0 / 59 | — | No seats | |
| 1999 | 1,106 | 0.30% | 8th | 0 / 59 |  0 | No seats | |
| 2003 | 1,667 | 0.39% | 9th | 0 / 59 | 0 | Catalina Gelabert | No seats |
| 2007 | WithinBloc | 1 / 59 | 1 | Biel Barceló | Coalition(PSIB–Bloc–UM) | ||
| Coalition(PSIB–Bloc; from Feb. 2010) | |||||||
| 2011 | 5,325 | 1.27% | 8th | 0 / 59 | 1 | Joan Lladó | No seats |
| 2015 | 766 | 0.18% | 17th | 0 / 59 | 0 | Josep Antoni Prats | No seats |
| Cortes Generales | ||||||||||
| Election | Congress | Senate | Leading candidate | Status in legislature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | # | Seats | +/– | Seats | +/– | ||||
| 1931 | — | 6.20% | 4th | 29 / 473 | New | — | — | Joaquim Llorens Abelló | Opposition (1931) | |
| Coalition (1931–1933) | ||||||||||
| 1933 | — | 3.60% | 7th | 17 / 473 | 12 | — | — | Lluís Companys | Opposition | |
| 1936 | WithinPopular Front | 21 / 473 | 4 | — | — | Joan Lluhí | Confidence and supply (1936) | |||
| Coalition (1936–1938) | ||||||||||
| Confidence and supply (1938–1939) | ||||||||||
| Opposition (1939) | ||||||||||
| Francoist dictatorship | ||||||||||
| 1977 | WithinEC–FED | 1 / 350 | — | 1 / 208 | — | Heribert Barrera | Opposition | |||
| 1979 | 123,452 | 0.69% | 13th | 1 / 350 | 0 | 2 / 208 | 1 | Heribert Barrera | Opposition | |
| 1982 | 138,118 | 0.66% | 9th | 1 / 350 | 0 | 2 / 208 | 0 | Francesc Vicens | Opposition | |
| 1986 | 84,628 | 0.42% | 12th | 0 / 350 | 1 | 0 / 208 | 2 | Francesc Vicens | No seats | |
| 1989 | 84,756 | 0.41% | 16th | 0 / 350 | 0 | 0 / 208 | 0 | Joan Hortalà | No seats | |
| 1993 | 189,632 | 0.80% | 9th | 1 / 350 | 1 | 0 / 208 | 0 | Pilar Rahola | Opposition | |
| 1996 | 167,641 | 0.67% | 9th | 1 / 350 | 0 | 0 / 208 | 0 | Pilar Rahola | Opposition | |
| 2000 | 194,715 | 0.84% | 9th | 1 / 350 | 0 | 1 / 208 | 1 | Joan Puigcercós | Opposition | |
| 2004 | 652,196 | 2.52% | 5th | 8 / 350 | 7 | 3 / 208 | 2 | Josep Lluís Carod-Rovira | Opposition | |
| 2008 | 298,139 | 1.16% | 7th | 3 / 350 | 5 | 3 / 208 | 0 | Joan Ridao | Opposition | |
| 2011 | WithinERC–CatSí | 3 / 350 | 0 | 0 / 208 | 3 | Alfred Bosch | Opposition | |||
| 2015 | WithinERC–CatSí | 9 / 350 | 6 | 6 / 208 | 6 | Gabriel Rufián | Opposition | |||
| 2016 | WithinERC–CatSí | 9 / 350 | 0 | 10 / 208 | 4 | Gabriel Rufián | Opposition | |||
| 2019 (Apr) | WithinERC–Sobiranistes | 14 / 350 | 5 | 11 / 208 | 1 | Oriol Junqueras[c] | Opposition | |||
| 2019 (Nov) | WithinERC–Sobiranistes | 12 / 350 | 2 | 11 / 208 | 0 | Gabriel Rufián | Opposition | |||
| 2023 | 462,883 | 1.89% | 5th | 7 / 350 | 6 | 3 / 208 | 8 | Gabriel Rufián | Confidence and supply | |
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| European Parliament | ||||||||||||||
| Election | Total | Catalonia | Balearic Islands | Valencian Community[d] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | # | Seats | +/– | Votes | % | # | Votes | % | # | Votes | % | # | |
| 1987 | WithinCEP | 0 / 60 | — | 112,107 | 3.70% | 6th | 533 | 0.16% | 16th | N/a | ||||
| 1989 | WithinPEP | 0 / 60 | 0 | 78,408 | 3.29% | 6th | N/a | N/a | ||||||
| 1994 | WithinPEP | 0 / 64 | 0 | 141,285 | 5.52% | 5th | 2,350 | 0.81% | 8th | 2,482 | 0.12% | 11th | ||
| 1999 | WithinCN–EP | 0 / 64 | 0 | 174,374 | 6.06% | 4th | N/a | 3,057 | 0.13% | 10th | ||||
| 2004 | WithinEdP | 1 / 54 | 1 | 249,757 | 11.80% | 4th | 7,498 | 2.87% | 5th | 15,703 | 0.90% | 5th | ||
| 2009 | WithinEdP–V | 1 / 54 | 0 | 181,213 | 9.20% | 4th | 7,651 | 2.97% | 4th | 9,807 | 0.52% | 7th | ||
| 2014 | WithinEPDD | 1 / 54 | 0 | 595,493 | 23.69% | 1st | 19,602 | 7.26% | 5th | 8,129 | 0.46% | 13th | ||
| 2019 | WithinAR | 2 / 59 | 1 | 727,039 | 21.21% | 3rd | 20,464 | 4.90% | 6th | 12,388 | 0.54% | 8th | ||
| 2024 | WithinAR | 1 / 61 | 1 | 355,460 | 14.81% | 3rd | N/a | 8,500 | 0.43% | 9th | ||||
El partit assumeix com a marca genèrica Esquerra Republicana
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)The opinion poll showed that the two main rival separatist parties – the left-wing Republican Left of Catalonia (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, ERC) and the centre-right Together for Catalonia (Junts per Catalunya) would get 36-38 and 30-33 seats, respectively, in the 135-seat assembly.
Catalonia's provincial government is a broad church of separatist parties from the left and right, ranging from the left-wing Republican Left of Catalonia to the centre-right Democratic Convergence of Catalonia.
The other party in the Catalan government, the left-wing Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), indulged in Torra's strongest lines of attack to a certain extent, but their attitude throughout has been rather more conciliatory.
(in Catalan)| Represented in the Parliament of Catalonia (135) |
|
|---|---|
| Represented in the Spanish Congress of Deputies (48 out of 350) | |
| Represented in the Spanish Senate (24 out of 266) | |
(*) With an asterisk, candidates who do not have their own parliamentary group. | |
