A month and a half before the elections that President Pedro Sánchez anticipated for November 29, the descendants of Spaniards who obtained citizenship from their ancestors through what is known as the “grandchild law” and who planned to vote from abroad They won’t be able to do it.
It is estimated that more than 163 thousand people would be in that situation because the Supreme Court decided to suspend the right to vote of those who have obtained Spanish nationality for being “descendants of exiles”. and gave alone five days so that those who consider it can present allegations.
“It’s almost impossible,” he says. Clarion Joaquín Urías, professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Seville.
“Someone who lives in Argentina would have to look for a lawyer in Spain and appear before the Supreme Court, but five days is a very short period,” admits the professor.
And he explains: “We would have to present allegations, wait for the Supreme Court to respond and, eventually, obtain protection from the Constitutional Court.”
“It seems designed by the Supreme Court so that even people who see their legitimate right violated have no opportunity to appeal”, he adds.
An additional provision of the democratic memory law of 2022 allows children and grandchildren of those Spaniards who have been forced to leave Spain to acquire nationality. between July 18, 1936 and December 31, 1955.
Now, for the Supreme Court, it is necessary to demonstrate with documentation the access route to that Spanish nationality, a requirement that is very unlikely to be implemented less than seven weeks before the elections.
“For general interest”
Of the almost 39 million Spaniards who will be able to vote, 7 percent reside abroad.
There are almost three million people, including Spaniards who live in other countries and descendants of Spaniards who obtained citizenship from their ancestors.
The Supreme Court grounds the precautionary suspension of the vote “for general interest.” Your decision is based on prioritize the purity of the electoral process over the right to vote of those who adopted Spanish citizenship.
For the judges of the Supreme Court, “cleanliness and neatness in the relationship of voters included in the censusin this case in the CERA (Electoral Census of Absent Residents), constitutes a supreme value from which the slightest doubts of obscurity or irregularity must be cleared up, because the democratic legitimacy of the representatives elected by the vote of citizens can be called into question if there is the slightest doubt of irregularity.
Doubtful growth of the registry?
Concern arose among conservative sectors about the increase in the electoral roll by 1.26 million new voters since the last general elections in 2023.
Of that total, 440,334 joined from abroadry are registered with CERA.
“In an election there can be no doubts about the census – said the opposition leader and president of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo -. The Supreme Court has once again put a limit on the government’s irresponsibility and has put the common good before his haste and his botches.”
For the progressive coalition government, the Supreme Court decision “It is an attack on fundamental rights”.
“It is an extremely serious situation that restricts one of the fundamental rights included in the Constitution, which is suffrage, the right to vote,” said Elma Saiz, Minister of Social Security and Migration and government spokesperson.
“In a democracy the right to vote is guaranteed, not restricted,” said Saiz.
“Let everyone who can vote vote”
“The Supreme Court ruling raises questions,” says Professor Urías to Clarion-. It is not a common justification nor is it something that the Constitution allows.”
“The general interest in electoral cleanliness implies that everyone who can vote votes,” he maintains.
-What advice would you give to those who have Spanish nationality and are affected by this suspension of voting?
-The advice would be to try to show up as soon as possible. As long as there is no general protest movement, it will happen as if nothing had happened. Let them take advantage of the five-day period and appear, if they can, as soon as possible. At least they should write to the Supreme Court saying that they want to be a party, even if they do not have a lawyer.
-What validity would it be for Spanish citizens abroad to send a letter directly to the Supreme Court?
-The best thing would be to appear formally through a lawyer and attorney. That implies an expense and I understand that many people are not able to afford it. You can appear electronically before the Supreme Court and request that a lawyer and an ex-officio attorney be appointed. Those who have their digital certificate can enter the Supreme Court website and request it.
-Would obtaining a public defender give more time to present allegations?
-Clear. The moment one requests it, the five-day period is interrupted. If he is appointed, then the public defender does everything. And if in the end he is not named, he has not lost anything. That would be the most sensible thing to do right now.
-But we are talking about more than 163 thousand people who could be in this situation. Would there be so many public defenders available?
-That is a matter for the courts. They will know. If they have decided on a measure that affects 160 thousand people, they will have to assume the consequences.