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14 May 2018The 55-year-old independent Quim Torra was elected 131st President of Catalonia in the second round by the Parlament of Barcelona.

Candidate for the exiled president Carles Puigdemont, Torra obtained 66 votes in favor (the two great families of the JxCat and Erc independents), 65 against (unionists and Podemos), 4 abstentions.

His election ends a long period of institutional paralysis and the commissioner of Catalonia by Madrid.

Quim Torra has promised to continue to "build an independent state" from Spain. "We will make the Catalan Republic," the newly elected editor said. "We will be faithful to the mandate of the self-determination referendum of October 1st: to build an independent state, a republic", he promised before the vote.

Torra must now form his own government, which will automatically put an end to the protection imposed by Madrid on this region of 7.5 million inhabitants when the separatist deputies proclaimed independence on 27 October 2017.

The new president promised from the first inaugural debate, Saturday, that he wanted to facilitate the return to power of Carles Puigdemont, who said he considered "the legitimate president". Puigdemont, fleeing Spain before being accused of rebellion, is on bail in Germany, where a court must rule on his extradition.

In his speech, Torra mentioned the creation of parallel structures of government abroad to prepare for secession: a "Council of the Republic" chaired by Puigdemont and an assembly of local elected representatives.