Politics · Spain · 4 hrs ago
Spain’s Supreme Court rejects extending voting restriction to descendants
Some judges on Spain’s Supreme Court have backed a provisional measure affecting more than 160,000 voters who became Spanish citizens under the 2022 Democratic Memory Law.
The law provides a route to citizenship for people linked to those who left Spain during and after the Civil War because of repression.
The judges rejected a request to extend the voting restriction to the affected voters’ children and other people who gained citizenship under the law.
They said there was too little time before the elections to identify those descendants, and that removing their votes would be excessive.
The decision leaves the restriction on the more than 160,000 voters in place, without distinguishing who can prove they were persecuted and who cannot.
The measure is provisional, and the commentary argues that applying it so broadly may be disproportionate.
The dispute concerns whether the voting restriction should also be lifted for those already affected, but the text gives no further steps or outcome.
Spain’s Supreme Court declined to extend a voting restriction to the children of more than 160,000 Spanish citizens affected by the restriction.
The judges said extending it to descendants would be excessive so close to elections and would create difficulties identifying them in time.
The case concerns voting rights linked to Spain’s 2022 Democratic Memory Law and its interpretation.
El País says the court’s reasoning for protecting descendants raises questions about the restriction already imposed on the 160,000 citizens.
- Who
- Judges on the Supreme Court’s Third Chamber and the applicants who sought the extension.
- What
- The court declined to extend the voting restriction to the children of those affected.
- When
- The decision came as elections were imminent. The article was published on 10 November 2026.
- Where
- Spain’s Supreme Court.
- Why
- The judges said extending the restriction would be excessive so close to elections, partly because descendants could not be identified in time.
Applicants seeking the extension
Supreme Court judges
Extension to descendants
Applicants seeking the extension
The applicants sought to restrict the voting rights of the children of those already affected.
Supreme Court judges
The judges declined to extend the restriction.
Reason for the decision
Applicants seeking the extension
The article does not state the applicants’ reasons.
Supreme Court judges
The judges cited the imminence of elections and the difficulty of identifying descendants in the time available.
An interpretive instruction on the Democratic Memory Law was issued, according to El País.
The law and its interpretation were applied, the article says.
The Supreme Court declined to extend the voting restriction to descendants, citing the short time available to identify them.
- People affected
- More than 160,000 Spanish citizens
- Law
- Democratic Memory Law of 2022
- Instruction date
- 25 October 2022
- Court
- Supreme Court’s Third Chamber
- Publication date
- 10 November 2026
1 source
What people are saying
dada la inminencia de las elecciones, ahora mismo sería excesivo suprimir el voto también de esos descendientes