The prosecutor's request
Spain's Public Prosecutor's Office has asked the Supreme Court to lift its precautionary suspension of voting rights for citizens nationalized under the 'ley de nietos' (grandchildren law), ahead of the general election on 29 November. The filing came in the submission period the court opened after the early election call, and Europa Press, El País and eldiario.es reported it on Friday 9 October. Sources at the prosecution say the snap election may have changed the balance of interests the court must weigh. The prosecution asks the judges to consider not carrying out census review actions "at least during this electoral process," and to let affected people join the proceedings.
What the September measure does
The Supreme Court's Section Four, of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber, suspended the vote and new census registrations, except where exile is proven, at the request of Iustitia Europa and Vox. El País dates that decision to 8 September, while La Razón gives 10 September. According to eldiario.es, consulates were to issue certificates only to people who documented their ancestors' exile, excluding those who relied on an instruction presuming that status for all Spaniards who left Spain between 1936 and 1955. The prosecution warns of the practical risk:
the execution of the order may generate a continuous and progressive suspension of registrations in the census from now until the elections and beyond
Scale of the affected group
According to figures from the State Legal Service (Abogacía del Estado) cited by eldiario.es, 369,017 Spaniards obtained nationality through the 'ley de nietos' on the census closed 1 August, and 163,020 did so through the instruction challenged before the Supreme Court.
The State Legal Service argues that the short time left makes it impossible to sort the files:
It is materially impossible to distinguish some from others in the very brief period of time available.
It argues the court has only two options: suspend all nationalized persons on the CERA register, or suspend none. The government asked that all nationalized Spaniards be allowed to vote under the Democratic Memory Law.
Electoral calendar
National Statistics Institute (INE) data published on Friday show 38,728,356 Spaniards eligible to vote on 29 November, including more than 1.6 million young people who came of age since 2023. More than 2.7 million residents abroad can vote without applying in advance, and the main countries of residence for those voters are Argentina, France and the United States. The census can be consulted from 12 to 19 October, census cards are sent from 2 November, and urn voting takes place from 21 to 26 November.
- Census for the 29 November election closed
- Vox and Iustitia Europa register requests for urgent measures
- Parties' submissions due; State Legal Service and government ask to lift the measures
- Prosecutors' request to the Supreme Court reported
- Census consultation period opens, running to 19 October
- Census cards begin to be sent
- General election
Related case and legal framework
ABC reports that prosecutors oppose investigating Sofía Puente, sister of Óscar Puente, over the 'ley de nietos' complaint Hazte Oír filed in July. They argue res judicata, because a 2022 complaint on similar facts was dismissed by Court of Instruction No. 21 in Madrid. La Razón notes that Article 116 of the Constitution sets three exceptional states, regulated by Organic Law 4/1981, during which Congress and Senate cannot be dissolved. The request before the Supreme Court invokes none of them, so the debate centers on whether census verification can proceed without affecting the election call.