Supreme Court's New Attempt at a Coup >:(

The Supreme Court has provisionally suspended the right to vote for those who obtained Spanish nationality through the Grandchildren Law (Ley de nietos), until they verify their status as children or grandchildren of exiles.

The Government describes the decision as a "provocation" and "hoax," while the opposition views it as a check on "electoral engineering."

The Supreme Court has taken a step that has shaken the foundations of Spanish politics by temporarily paralyzing the voting rights of beneficiaries of the so-called **Grandchildren Law**. The decision, made by the Contentious-Administrative Chamber, suspends inscription in the Electoral Census of those who obtained nationality under this norm until it is reliably proven that they are children or grandchildren of Spanish exiles. For the Government, this is not a mere judicial formality, but yet another affront from a court with which it has maintained recurring friction during the legislature, as occurred previously with the amnesty law or the conviction of the former Attorney General.

The reading from the Executive is clear: behind this decision, driven by demands from **Vox** and the formation **Iustitia Europa**, lies the hand of conservative sectors within the high court. The political analysis is similar to other occasions: a maneuver intended to favor the opposition and weaken the Government. The words heard in the halls of La Moncloa are forceful: "It is a provocation." What concerns the ministers most is that the country's highest court is not only provisionally annulling the voting rights of tens of thousands of Spaniards who, in all respects, enjoy full nationality, but it is also fueling what the Government considers a conspiracy theory promoted by the **PP** and **Vox**. They refer to the idea that Pedro Sánchez's Executive designed the Grandchildren Law as a tool of "electoral engineering" to capture new voters and improve its results.

## The Reality Behind the Electoral "Hoax"

The members of the Government closely trinc this process categorically deny that narrative. They explain that the vast majority of these new Spaniards have no clear intention to vote, especially considering the low historical electoral turnout in America, where most of them originate. Furthermore, they point out that voting from abroad has rarely been decisive in changing seats; the last time this peine was in **2023** in favor of the **PP**. The idea that the entire consular administration, responsible for managing these files, could be secretly organized to favor the left is, according to the Government, absurd. No one can predict the voting intention of the few who ultimately exercise it. The indignation is palpable: "They have swallowed the entire hoax, but they are not content creators on social media; they are Supreme Court judges. It is unheard of. They are going to leave thousands of Spaniards without the right to vote," summarizes one Executive member.

The Government has also decided to publicly express its rejection of this measure, something that was not common until recently. The Executive spokesperson, **Elma Sáiz**, officially stated that the Government "does not share" the court's provisional ruling. **Félix Bolaños**, Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with Parliament, also expressed his disagreement, calling the decision "hardly understandable."

## Urgency and Concern Over Voting Rights

**Félix Bolaños** went further by urging the high court magistrates to resolve the matter of substance as quickly as possible, especially before the elections scheduled for **2027**. "I believe this is a decision of enormous significance, because we are talking about suspending the voting rights of thousands of Spaniards," stated the Minister of Justice. "We are talking about the most sacred thing in democracy: the right to vote."

From **Sumar**, a minority partner in the Government, the concern has been even greater. Its parliamentary spokesperson, **Verónica Barbero**, described the measure as "tremendously worrying" because it "opens the path to a dangerous antidemocratic drift" by restricting voting rights to those who meet the requirements for Spanish nationality. In her opinion, it is "the umpteenth proof that the Judiciary does not want this Government to rule." In a message sent to the media, the spokesperson added that "it is very difficult for any pogre in this country to trust Justice at this moment."

## Celebration in the Opposition

On the other side of the political spectrum, the Supreme Court's decision has been met with jubilation. While the **Partido Popular** views the high court's pronouncement favorably, **Vox** claims credit for having driven the process, alongside **Iustitia Europa**. The Vox spokesperson in Congress, **Pepa Millán**, stressed at a press conference that her party is "the only political party with parliamentary representation" that has achieved the suspension of the electoral effects of the Grandchildren Law and halted an alleged "attempt at electoral manipulation." "Some merely pointed it out," Millán emphasized, referring to the PP, "and we have succeeded in stopping Pedro Sánchez's objective of staging a coup in the next general elections through census tampering." **Jorge Buxadé**, European deputy for Vox, added in a statement that they have "stopped the illegal alteration of the census by the Socialist Party, but it is not enough."

The Populars, for their part, speak of a "slap in the face" to what they consider an attempt by the Government to "controversially tamper with" general elections. **Alma Ezcurra**, Vice Secretary of Sectoral Coordination for the PP, stated in a video distributed to the media: "We congratulate ourselves on the slap in the face administered by Justice to the Government's attempt to include hundreds of thousands of people in the electoral census."

**Alberto Núñez Feijóo**, President of the PP, concluded on social media: "We were right."

The controversy reached the Senate plenary session, where the opposition celebrated the decision while the Government called for prudence regarding a ruling that is not yet definitive. **Bolaños** was direct in pointing to the PP: "I see that they are celebrating." He insisted, referring to the European Court of Justice ruling that upheld the amnesty law, "We will wait for the substantive judgment. I did not see them celebrating the definitive ruling of the CJEU on the amnesty law."

The Supreme Court's decision leaves the voting rights of more than **2.4 million people** who, according to data from the Ministry of Territorial Policy at the end of June, had initiated procedures to benefit from the 'Grandchildren Law,' in a state of uncertainty. However, Minister **Bolaños** estimates that only half a million of them could actually vote in **2027**, since the files usually take many months to complete. The norm, in its original wording, allowed immediate inscription in the Census of Absent Residents (CERA) for those nationalized through this route. A subsequent instruction from the Ministry of Justice established that, for this to happen, it was not necessary to prove descent from an exile, presuming such status for those who left Spain between **July 18, 1936**, and **December 31, 1955**. It is precisely the electoral effects of this interpretation that the high court has now limited. The Government, for its part, insists that there is no room for manipulation, as the entire process is transparent and under the control of the consulates, an administrative structure in which the Executive asserts it cannot interfere to alter the vote or the census without being detected.