Politics · Spain · 1 hr ago
Spain’s top court rejects appeal over suspended votes under the Ley de Nietos
Spain’s Constitutional Court rejected an appeal over the suspension of voting rights for people who gained Spanish nationality under the Ley de Nietos.
The suspension affects people whose registration to vote from abroad is in question, ahead of Spain’s general election on November 29.
Reports give different totals for those affected: one says 160,000 and another says 163,020.
The dispute centres on a Justice Ministry instruction that treated some people who left Spain between 1936 and 1955 as exiles without requiring proof, while the Supreme Court has questioned registrations made on that basis.
The court majority called the appeal premature because the Supreme Court case is still open and could change.
Two of the Constitutional Court’s 12 judges disagreed, saying the decision avoided examining the effect on voting rights.
Vox has asked the Supreme Court to suspend some children’s votes too, arguing their Spanish nationality came only through parents whose registration is suspended.
Vox says it expects the Supreme Court to respond in the coming days.
Vox has asked Spain’s Supreme Court to extend a voting-rights suspension to some adult children of people affected by the measure.
The party argues that the children’s Spanish nationality derives solely from their parents’ nationality, which Vox says was obtained fraudulently.
The Supreme Court has suspended the electoral registration of people whose nationality under the “grandchildren’s law” is in question.
A separate Constitutional Court majority rejected the Ombudsman’s challenge as premature, while two dissenting judges criticized that decision.
The next Spanish general election is scheduled for November 29.
- Who
- Vox, represented by its legal coordinator Jorge Buxadé, is asking Spain’s Supreme Court to act.
- What
- The party wants the court to extend the suspension of electoral registration to some adult children of affected voters.
- When
- Vox said it filed its request on the Friday before October 26, 2026.
- Where
- The request was made to Spain’s Supreme Court; the affected voters are registered, or seek registration, in the overseas electoral census.
- Why
- Vox argues that the children’s Spanish nationality derives from parents whose own nationality is being challenged.
Constitutional Court majority
Constitutional Court dissenting judges Ramón Sáez and Juan Carlos Campo
Grounds for decision
Constitutional Court majority
The majority rejected the Ombudsman’s appeal as premature because proceedings in the Supreme Court remain open.
Constitutional Court dissenting judges Ramón Sáez and Juan Carlos Campo
The dissenters said the court should have addressed the substance of the challenge to the suspension of voting rights.
Assessment of the approach
Constitutional Court majority
The majority considered that the judicial process had not yet run its course.
Constitutional Court dissenting judges Ramón Sáez and Juan Carlos Campo
The dissenters called the majority’s formalistic approach intolerable given the scale and constitutional significance of the case.
The Supreme Court first suspended the electoral registration of people whose nationality under the law was in question.
The Supreme Court upheld the suspension after the election was called and invited 160,000 affected people to make submissions.
Vox filed a request asking the Supreme Court to extend the measure to certain children of affected voters.
El País reported that the Constitutional Court majority had rejected the Ombudsman’s appeal as premature, with two judges dissenting.
Spain’s next general election is scheduled to take place.
- People affected
- 160,000, according to El País
- People affected
- 163,020, according to El Mundo
- Party seeking extension
- Vox
- Vox legal coordinator
- Jorge Buxadé
- Election date
- November 29, 2026
- Electoral register
- Censo Electoral de Residentes Ausentes (CERA)
3 sources
Iusticia Europa pide al Supremo que suspenda también el voto de los hijos de los 'nietos'
Los magistrados del Constitucional que estaban a favor de admitir el recurso por la ‘ley de nietos’ ven “intolerable” la conclusión de la mayoría
Vox pide expresamente al Supremo que suspenda el voto de los hijos de los electores excluidos
What people are saying
Como a mí me han convertido de forma fraudulenta en español, es evidente que mis hijos o nietos cuya nacionalidad solo trae causa de la mía, es nula
Una conclusión intolerable
Se trata de un caso de los que marcan la historia de un Tribunal Constitucional: la suspensión masiva del derecho fundamental al sufragio del que son titulares miles de ciudadanos en unas elecciones generales ya convocadas