⁍ Spain’s Supreme Court upheld an 18-month ban from public office for Catalonia’s regional leader on charges of disobedience.

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⁍ The case stems from Quim Torra’s refusal to follow orders from Spain’s electoral committee to remove a banner supporting jailed separatists.

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⁍ The ban will prompt a snap election in the prosperous northeastern region if, as expected, the regional parliament does not vote a candidate for the post in coming days.

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– The leader of Spain’s Catalonia region has been banned from public office for 18 months over his refusal to take down a banner supporting jailed separatists. The country’s Supreme Court ruled Monday that Quim Torra violated his oath of office when he didn’t comply with orders to remove the banner from the government palace in Barcelona, reports the AP. The ban will take effect when it is notified to Torra, who has vowed to fight the decision and called for a snap election in the region, which is split between those who support independence from Spain and those who oppose it. Torra had argued that he was entitled to freedom of expression, but the court said its ruling encompassed not personal rights but defiance of a constitutional body, reports Reuters. Catalonia’s separatist drive has dominated Spanish politics for several years, in particular since the regional assembly made a unilateral declaration of independence in October 2017 following a referendum declared illegal by judges. “Supreme shame,’ Jordi Turull, one of the jailed Catalan leaders, tweeted just after Monday’s ruling. ‘Once more, the Spanish state interferes in our democratic institutions,’ added former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who is in self-imposed exile in Belgium. The ban will prompt a snap election in the prosperous northeastern region if, as expected, the regional parliament does not vote a candidate for the post in coming days. Torra said earlier this month his removal would trigger an unnecessary election and create instability during the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. But Cristina Narbona, president of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s PSOE party, says a new election should be held fast to stop “political paralysis.”