Spain’s public prosecutors have asked the Supreme Court to lift a temporary restriction on voting by people granted Spanish nationality under the so-called ‘grandchildren’s law’, warning that the snap general election on 29 November has created serious obstacles to implementing the order.
The request adds to pressure from the government’s legal service to reconsider the measure before polling day. Meanwhile, Iustitia Europa, one of the parties behind the legal challenge, has demanded that the election itself be suspended if the court’s restrictions cannot be enforced in time.
According to an El País report, prosecutors also want those whose voting rights are affected to be allowed to join the proceedings formally, giving them an opportunity to defend their interests before the court.
Election timetable complicates the court order
The Supreme Court’s administrative division imposed the interim measure on 8 September, before a general election had been called. ALSO READ: Spain’s Supreme Court provisionally restricts voting rights for some descendants granted nationality under ‘grandchildren’s law’.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s subsequent decision to bring forward the election has given the dispute an immediate practical consequence: whether thousands of Spanish citizens will be able to vote in November.
The case concerns electoral registration linked to nationality acquired under the ‘grandchildren’s law’, an additional provision of Spain’s Democratic Memory Law, approved in 2022. ALSO READ: Spain rules Franco regime ‘illegal’ with new ‘Democratic Memory Law’.
The law includes a route to Spanish nationality for people born outside Spain whose parents or grandparents were originally Spanish and who lost or renounced their nationality as a consequence of exile for political, ideological or other reasons covered by the legislation. ALSO READ: Spain’s citizenship law for descendants abroad ignites election row.
Spain’s state broadcaster RTVE previously reported that the court’s order restricted registration and voting through the overseas electoral roll, known as CERA, unless those affected could demonstrate that they were descendants of Spaniards exiled because of the Civil War or Franco’s dictatorship. The measure is provisional, pending a ruling on the substance of the challenge.
The far-right Vox party and Iustitia Europa asked the court to take urgent steps to ensure that the restrictions would apply to the November election on the same day Sánchez announced the dissolution of parliament.
The fourth section of the court’s administrative division, which is handling the case, then gave the parties 48 hours to submit their arguments. It also sought their views on whether the affected citizens should be invited to participate in the proceedings. That deadline expired on Thursday.
Prosecutors argue that the election announcement requires the judges to reassess the consequences of their earlier decision.
Prosecutors warn of conflicting requirements
A central difficulty is the electoral roll. According to the prosecution’s submission, the register being used for the November election was closed on 1 August, and the scope for subsequent changes is limited.
Implementing the September court order could nevertheless require a continuing process of suspending electoral registrations before polling day and beyond it.
Prosecutors have therefore highlighted ‘serious difficulties’ in applying the interim measure, alongside possible ‘incompatibilities’ between the requirements of Spain’s electoral law, known as LOREG, and the restrictions ordered by the judges.
They argue that the snap election may have altered ‘the framework for weighing the conflicting interests’ underpinning the original decision. In those circumstances, they want the court to consider whether the electoral-roll reviews should be put on hold, at least for this election.
The government’s legal service has made a similar request. RTVE reported that its submission described it as ‘materially impossible’ to review all the relevant files before 29 November, arguing that enforcing the measure within the election timetable would jeopardise voting rights and the affected citizens’ ability to defend themselves.
Concerns over citizens’ right to be heard
The dispute also raises questions about the procedure followed before restricting voting rights.
El País reported that the government’s latest legal submission identified 163,020 people directly affected by the measure. They had neither been individually notified of the decision nor invited to challenge it.
Several associations have sought permission to join the case and contest the restrictions. However, the absence of a direct opportunity for the affected citizens to be heard has reportedly caused concern among some Supreme Court judges.
According to the newspaper, those judges warn that this could provide grounds for the Constitutional Court to overturn the measure if the Supreme Court maintains it.
Iustitia Europa calls for election suspension
While prosecutors and government lawyers are seeking to lift the voting restrictions, Iustitia Europa has responded by asking the court to suspend the November election.
Its president, Luis Pardo, argued on Friday that the government’s claim that implementation was impossible strengthened the case for delaying the vote.
‘We have an interim ruling in force from the Supreme Court that directly affects the electoral consequences of certain registrations in CERA. And we have the government’s own legal service telling the same court that it is materially impossible to implement it within the electoral timetable,’ he said.
Pardo asked the court to suspend voting ‘for the time strictly necessary to guarantee effective compliance with the order’ imposing the interim measures.
The competing requests leave the Supreme Court facing a decision over how to reconcile its existing order with the election timetable and the participation rights of the citizens concerned.
Enjoying the news from Spain in English? Add us as a preferred news source in Google.
Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter from Spain in English.
Félix Bolaños, sobre la ley de nietos: “En nuestro país la nacionalidad está vinculada por nuestra Constitución, por nuestra ley, al derecho a voto” #LaHora8O https://t.co/cjzOHb7QBY
— RTVE Noticias (@rtvenoticias) October 8, 2026
Fiscalía pide al Supremo que levante la suspensión de la ‘ley de nietos’ al menos para el 29-N https://t.co/wzUiutai3u https://t.co/V9Ox5IB6Bd
— Europa Press TV (@europapress_tv) October 9, 2026
Click here to get your business activity or services listed on our DIRECTORY.