Madrid — The Spanish Supreme Court has suspended the electoral rights of individuals naturalized under the “grandchildren law,” prompting significant political debate. The government characterized the ruling as one of “extraordinary gravity,” while opposition parties, including the PP and Vox, claim it ensures the “cleanliness” of the upcoming November 29 elections. Conversely, progressives view the move as a serious infringement of fundamental rights.
The Supreme Court’s decision impacts approximately 163,020 individuals who require removal from the electoral census, according to a government-led initiative for compliance with the ruling. Responsibility for executing this task primarily falls to the State’s foreign service and the Electoral Census Office, which must ensure these individuals are excluded from voting.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has instructed all consulates to display the Supreme Court’s resolution, giving affected individuals five working days to appeal as injured parties. Additionally, consulates must assess individual files to differentiate between those who proved descent from exiles and those who did not. This data will be uploaded to a platform provided by the ministry for processing by the Census Office.
Diplomatic sources have expressed concerns about the feasibility of these tasks. One source remarked, “They are asking us for the impossible.” Consulates face the challenge of examining thousands of applications under a tight deadline, as the electoral census closed on Monday, with all data needing to reach the Electoral Census Office by October 23.
Despite the gravity of the situation, past participation rates suggest minimal impact. Only 10% of those in the Census of Spaniards Absent Residents (CERA) voted in previous elections. The State Attorney’s Office indicated that this limited involvement indicates no substantial threat to the electoral outcome.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has acknowledged the complexity of implementing the Supreme Court’s measures. A peculiar situation has arisen where individuals who previously voted in elections this year will now be barred from voting on November 29.
According to data from the State Attorney General’s Office, around 570,063 applications for nationality have been submitted under the grandchildren law. Of those, 168,896 people are registered in CERA, with 163,020 being affected by the recent ruling. However, approximately 304,272 applications remain unresolved. While there are 172 consular offices globally, a significant portion of the work falls on just 16 offices that account for over 84% of registrations.
Many of the applications originate from Latin America, where the situation at consulates has reached a point of crisis, contributing to broader political tensions surrounding the grandchildren law. The Supreme Court did not question the law’s legitimacy but focused instead on the administrative processes that developed it, noting the need for clearer distinctions among applicants.
Additionally, the demand from the Supreme Court has compounded existing pressures on consular services, which faced increased workloads amid a growing population of Spaniards abroad, now numbering around 3.2 million, up from one million in the early 2000s.
