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TEHRAN, October 26 - Catalonian president Carles Puigdemont is set to call a snap regional election for Dec. 20, local media said on Friday, a move that could help break a one-month deadlock between the Madrid government and Catalan separatists seeking independence from Spain.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - Barcelona-based La Vanguardia said Puigdemont had taken the decision in a bid to convince the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy not to enforce direct rule in the region.
Puigdemont will deliver an address at 1.30 p.m (11:30 GMT), his office said.
Calling an election could either strengthen Puigdemont's mandate if pro-independence parties won, or allow him a graceful exit if they did not.
But it could also heighten divisions within the secessionist camp and bring the current campaign to a halt.
Cracks appeared late on Thursday in the secessionist coalition as members backed a vote while others said there was no alternative to independence.
An opinion poll published by the El Periodico newspaper on Sunday showed a snap election would probably have results similar to the last ballot, in 2015, when a coalition of pro-independence parties formed a minority government.
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