BARCELONA, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Catalonia postponed the election of a new regional president on Tuesday until further notice after Spain's highest court said the sole nominee, separatist leader Carles Puigdemont, was ineligible while he remains a fugitive from justice in Belgium. The industrial northeastern region’s drive for a split from Spain has led it to clash with the central government in Madrid and the judiciary, which say a declaration of independence is against the country’s 39-year-old constitution. “Torrent must open a round of talks (with parties) to save the situation generated by Mr. Puigdemont,” Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said Wednesday. Earlier, hundreds of pro-independence protesters broke through a police cordon and climbed over a fence to reach the grounds of the regional parliament in Barcelona chanting “Puigdemont, our president” and “Where are the politicians we voted for?”, many wearing Puigdemont masks. The national government in Madrid has been involved in a protracted game of chicken with the regional administration in Barcelona since Puigdemont's government defied a Constitutional Court ruling and went ahead with a referendum on independence on October 1 last year. Catalonia has been under the direct control of the Spanish government since the end of October, when the prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, responded to the Catalan parliament’s unilateral declaration of independence by sacking Puigdemont and calling fresh elections. The texts were sent around the same time that Puigdemont issued a defiant message on social media, calling for unity and saying he intended to return to the presidency after last December’s election, in which pro-independence parties held on to their majority in the regional parliament. The Constitutional Court said on Saturday the former journalist could not be elected unless he was physically present in the parliament, with a judge’s permission to attend. If the probe into separatist leaders for rebellion and sedition goes to trial, those charged — including Puigdemont — could be barred from office as a precautionary measure. This reportedly happened on Tuesday evening, just hours after the Catalan parliament's speaker postponed a crunch vote to reappoint Puigdemont as Catalan leader, drawing an outcry among separatist ranks but welcome by Madrid and anti-independence parties. Torrent insisted Puigdemont was still the candidate after separatist parties maintained their absolute majority in December regional polls, led by the separatist leader’s grouping. During that time, Catalonia would continue under the control of the central government, which imposed direct rule on the wealthy semi-autonomous region on October 27 after the Catalan parliament declared independence.
Private messages between former President of the Generalitat of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont and Antoni Comín, the exiled regional minister of Health, come to light, in which the former President confesses that the secession procedure "is over", opening, once again, tensions between the pro-independence political parties and more confusion about the future of Catalonia.