Basque referendum, 2008

A two-question non-binding referendum in the Spanish Basque Country loosely regarding Basque self-determination from Spain was scheduled for 25 October 2008.

The poll was proposed by "lehendakari" (president of the Basque country autonomous community) Juan José Ibarretxe The first question was a yes or no vote on whether engaging in talks with ETA, the second being about whether there should be a political debate on the "right to decide of the Basque people" - a coded reference to the issue of whether the Basque Country should remain in Spain.

The vote call was appealed by the Spanish government and eventually overturned by the Constitutional Court of Spain on 11 September 2008.

Forging

The referendum-like vote was announced on 28 September 2007 by Juan José Ibarretxe, with the support of the three party coalition that make up his Government, namely the Basque Nationalist Party (Ibarretxe's own), Eusko Alkartasuna and Ezker Batua Berdeak. [ [http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Basque-leader-calls-referendum-for-2008/2007/09/28/1190486570868.html Ibarretxe calls referendum for 2008, The Sydney Morning Herald, September 28, 2007] ] . The lone Aralar MP also supported the call while the Basque branches of both socialist PSOE and conservative Popular Party rejected it. This made a 33-33 tie at the Basque regional Parliament.

On 27 June, 2008, the referendum cite was approved by the Basque Parliament narrowly by 34 to 33, and 7 abstentions. To break the existing 33 to 33 votes tie at the Basque autonomous Parliament, the referendum cite received the tactical support of one of the EHAK MPs –which is often regarded as ETA's political arm [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/apr/16/spain.gilestremlett Freedom battle at Basque elections | World news | The Guardian ] ] –, while the other 7 MPs of this party abstained.

Ibarretxe preferred to called the vote a "consultation" rather than a referendum [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/12/europe/EU-Spain-Basque-Referendum.php] ] and stated he would negotiate its terms with the Spanish central government until June 2008, and then would submit a possible mutually accepted plan to a binding referendum; should the negotiations fail. Ibarretxe stated he would hold a non-binding referendum on the future of the Basque Country. [ [http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/234324/1ST_LEAD_Basque_region_to_hold_referendum_on_independence_in_2008 1ST LEAD: Basque region to hold referendum on independence in 2008, digitaljournal.com, September 28, 2007] ] Eventually in his plans, if his party still hold government, another referendum in 2010 would then decide the final status of the Basque Country. [http://www.diariodesevilla.com/172881_ESN_HTML.htm Dead link|date=June 2008] Ibarretxe stated he believes an open-ended discussion on Basque independence would help to end the conflict with ETA.

The two questions were revealed on 28 May 2008. The questions proposed were:

First

"¿Está usted de acuerdo en apoyar un proceso de final dialogado de la violencia, si previamente ETA manifiesta de forma inequívoca su voluntad de poner fin a la misma de una vez y para siempre?".

:Do you agree to supporting a process of dialogued end to the violence, if ETA previously declares unmistakably their will to end it once and for all?

Second

"¿Está usted de acuerdo en que los partidos vascos, sin exclusiones, inicien un proceso de negociación para alcanzar un acuerdo democrático sobre el ejercicio del derecho a decidir del Pueblo Vasco, y que dicho acuerdo sea sometido a referéndum antes de que finalice el año 2010?"

:Do you agree that the Basque parties, without exceptions, start a process of negotiation to reach a democratic agreement about the right to decide of the Basque People, and that the aforementioned agreement will be submitted to referendum before the end of the year 2010? [ [http://www.pr-inside.com/basque-leader-unveils-questions-for-r612424.htm Basque leader unveils questions for referendum seen as push for independence from Spain, PR Inside, May 28, 2008] ]

Those eligible to vote were the Spanish citizens registered to vote in the Basque Country. That caused criticism from those advocating for the referendum to include the so-called historical Basque territories and those who asked for it to include all of Spain.

Reactions

The referendum call was widely seen as a veiled attempt to garner support for Basque independence. [ [http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_16697.shtml President of the Basque Government reveals his two first referendum questions, typicallyspanish.com, May 28, 2008] ] . As such, both the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and the People's Party, including their Basque branches, reject his plan, while regional nationalist parties such as the Galician Nationalist Bloc and the Republican Left of Catalonia express their support. [ [http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/234377/ROUNDUP_Spain_rejects_Basque_referendum_on_independence_next_year ROUNDUP: Spain rejects Basque referendum on independence next year, digitaljournal.com, September 28, 2007] ] [http://n4abc10.abc.es/20070929/nacional-politica/socios-psoe-celebran-propuesta_200709290909.html Dead link|date=June 2008]

There is a part within the Basque Nationalist Party itself which opposes more or less overtly the convenience of the referendum, since it is thought to strenghthen ETA in its current downfall. This part of the party includes former leader Josu Jon Imaz [ [http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9833306 Spain and its regions | Autonomy games | Economist.com ] ] or Bilbao's mayor Iñaki Azkuna, who thinks that the referendum should not be held with ETA being active and without a general consensus to hold it in the first place [ [http://www.noticiasdegipuzkoa.com/ediciones/2007/10/02/politica/euskadi/d02eus16.754322.php Azkarraga apuesta por la "confrontación" si no hay pacto y Azkuna cuestiona la consulta ] ] .

ETA in a communique declared the referendum a fraud [ [http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_16734.shtml Basque terrorists ETA dismiss the Ibarretxe referendum as a fraud ] ] , still, the media especulated with the fact that ETA could have declared a temporary, tactical and unofficial recess of its activities during the previous dates before the referendum was discussed at the Basque autonomous parliament, only to resume its attacks right after the referendum has been appealed by the government before the Constitutional Court of Spain for a constitutionality check. [ [http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espana/ETA/fijo/minitregua/debate/consulta/Ibarretxe/elpepuesp/20080710elpepinac_2/Tes ETA fijó una minitregua para el debate de la consulta de Ibarretxe · ELPAÍS.com ] ]

Constitutional Court

The Spanish government appealed the vote to the Constitutional Court of Spain, thus suspending the referendum plans. [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/27/europe/EU-POL-Spain-Basques.php Basque lawmakers approve plan for referendum seen as breakaway bid from Spain, International Herald Tribune, June 27, 2008] ] The suspension occurred on 17 July 2008. [ [http://www.c2d.ch/news/rel.php?rel=2922&lang= C2D - Centre for research on direct democracy ] ] . The Court ruled unanimously on 11 September 2008 that the referendum was unconstitutional, as only the central government could call such a referendum [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iad9zSR1Nx72TcHzkYxEGuyAIYHwD934Q1KG0] . The court said only Spain's central government can convene referendums and that the issue this one wanted to raise — the possibility of changing the Basque region's relationship with the rest of Spain — is something that all Spaniards would have to decide on, not just Basques; in turn, Ibarretxe said he respected the court ruling, while adding that the court was "acting for political reasons disguised in a legal veneer" [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/12/europe/EU-Spain-Basque-Referendum.php] ] . Earlier in the discussion it was expected that, if the Constitutional Court overturned the referendum plans, Ibarretexe would call early elections to the Basque regional parliament [ [http://www.b92.net/eng/news/world-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=05&dd=29&nav_id=50634] ] .

He subsequently called on "the Basque people" and its political parties to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights to take Spain to task over the court decision. [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/12/europe/EU-Spain-Basque-Referendum.php] ] .

ee also

Ibarretxe Plan

References