Catalunya politicians face court, including 'failed' new president

Deposed president Puigdemont recommended his party colleague Jordi Sànchez as president, despite his being in jail for his role in the disputed independence referendum, but Sànchez has stood down and handed over his Parliamentary seat in light of the impossibility of being able to run the region.

The next candidate was Jordi Turull, whose presidential investiture was supposed to be yesterday, but fellow pro-secession party CUP thwarted it by abstaining in the final vote.

Another round of voting will take place tomorrow (Saturday), but is likely to end in the same way.

And Turull is facing investigation by the Supreme Court, meaning he, too, could end up in custody.

He is facing charges of rebellion along with Puigdemont and Jordi Sànchez, plus former deputy president Oriol Junqueras, Sànchez's colleague Jordi Cuixart, two of the politicians who were in exile in Belgium with Puigdemont – Clara Ponsatí, who is now back in her job as head of studies at Edinburgh's University of St Andrew in the faculty of psychology, and Antoni Comin – plus Carme Forcadell, Marta Rovira, Joaquim Forn, Josep Rull, Dolors Bassa and Raúl Romeva.

For rebellion and misuse of public funds, those charged include another politician who fled to Belgium with Puigdemont, Meritxell Serret, along with Meritxell Borràs, Carles Mundó and Santí Vila, and for disobedience, Lluís Corominas, Luis Güinó, Anna Simó, Ramona Barrufet, Josep Nuet, Mireia Boya, and Anna Gabriel of the CUP who is currently in exile in Switzerland.

Former Catalunya presidenmt Artur Mas will not be investigated, neither will coordinator of the party PDeCAT, Marta Pascal, or the former chairwoman of the Association of Municipalities for Independence (AMI), Neus Lloveras.

In the meantime, Catalunya has been without a president and under State control since October, and the regional elections forced by the national government on December 21 remain inconclusive after the pro-secession parties won a collective majority.

Photograph: (Left to right) Oriol Junqueras, Carles Puigdemont, and current presidential candidate Jordi Turull (picture by Catalunya regional government).