regional parliament

The coalition of the separatist parties 'Together for YES' and 'Candidates for People's Unity' who rule in the Spanish province of Catalonia have submitted to the regional parliament a law that should serve as a transitional constitution if a decision to separate from Spain is taken in a forthcoming referendum, The Associated Press reported.

Regional elections in Spain on Sept. 25 strengthened acting Prime Minister's Mariano Rajoy's conservatives and weakened the Socialists, under pressure to let him form a government and end a months-long political impasse, AFP reported. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) were beaten into third place by the anti-immigrant and anti-Islam Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in a north-eastern state election on Sept. 4.

The regional parliament of Catalonia approved a plan on Nov 9 to set up a road map for independence from Spain by 2017, in defiance of the central government.

Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlio?lu met with different political groups in northern Iraq and urged Iraqi Kurdish political actors for "unity and stability" in the political arena of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), underlining ongoing threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), diplomatic sources have told the Hürriyet Daily News.

Catalan separatists dealt a bitter blow to Spain's government by winning control of their regional parliament, sparking uncertainty and political manoeuvring Sept. 28, three months ahead of a general election.

Catalonia is voting in regional elections that may lead to the region's independence from Spain.

Two separatist parties have joined forces, aiming at a majority of 68 seats in the 135-seat Parliament.

Catalans voted Sept. 27 in an election dubbed crucial for the future of Spain, with polls pointing to a win by separatists who vow to declare the region independent by 2017.

Iraqi Kurdistan president Massud Barzani's extended term expired on Aug. 20, leaving the autonomous region in a "legal vacuum" that Kurdish political parties are still trying to resolve.

The Sun newspaper on April 30 urged readers to vote for the Conservative party of British Prime Minister David Cameron in next week's election but its Scottish edition backed rival nationalists.