Alberto Núñez Feijóo, president of the Partido Popular, has reopened debate over Spain’s electoral system with a proposal to award extra parliamentary seats to the party that wins a general election. “A party that wins the election should receive a bonus of seats, following the Italian or Greek model, to help stability,” he said. The proposal aims to make it easier for the winning force to form a stable government. It would require a change to Spain’s electoral legislation, not an administrative adjustment. Feijóo’s remarks come as Spain looks ahead to the 2027 general elections, with private polls projecting a simple majority for the PP, potentially in coalition with Vox.
Feijóo’s proposal comes amid closer scrutiny of the expansion of Spain’s overseas electoral register. He has questioned the motives behind the so-called “ley de nietos,” the nationality route for descendants of Spanish exiles and emigrants, describing the government’s alleged objective as “electoral engineering.” He has also pointed to Buenos Aires, suggesting that the influx of new citizens could make it one of the most populous Spanish cities in terms of eligible voters in the next election cycle.
The Italian comparison is basic to Feijóo’s argument. A reform approved by Italy’s Parliament on 8 October 2026 provides 70 additional seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 35 in the Senate for a coalition that receives more than 42% of the vote. The measure replaces the previous mixed system with proportional representation and a majority premium, alongside limits intended to prevent an excessively large parliamentary majority. Opponents argue that the change could weaken proportionality by altering how votes translate into seats.
Spain’s “ley de nietos” is the popular name for the nationality route established by the eighth additional provision of the Ley de Memoria Democrática, enacted in October 2022. It allowed eligible children and grandchildren of Spaniards who left during the Civil War or Francoism, whether through exile or emigration, to opt for Spanish nationality. Applications were accepted from October 2022 until October 2025. Applicants living abroad who obtain nationality can be entered in the Censo de Españoles Residentes Ausentes (CERA) and vote in general elections. Their overseas registration, but, does not provide the local connection required to vote in municipal elections.
By March 2026, more than 2.45 million applications had been reported under the scheme. More than 545,000 had been approved, while over 306,000 registrations had been completed in consular civil registries. Government figures supplied to the Cortes Generales for 31 August 2026 recorded 1,317,108 applications, 600,684 approved files and 369,017 completed civil-registry registrations. These figures refer to separate administrative stages, not interchangeable measures of electoral enrollment. The Consulate General in Mexico alone processed more than 117,000 requests, making it one of the busiest after Argentina. Spanish consulates, especially in Buenos Aires, faced large pressure during the application period, which ended in October 2025.
The overseas electoral register also grew during this period. CERA counted 2,747,688 electors on 1 August 2026, up 20.2% from October 2022. A separate count in September 2026 put the register at 2,762,829, an increase of 429,773, or 18.4%, from July 2023. These figures show the register’s overall growth, not how many people secured nationality, completed later registration steps or cast a vote. The scale of the increase has intensified debate over the electoral implications of the nationality route. The figures alone, but, do not establish that the scheme was designed to benefit a particular party.
The issue has also reached the courts. A precautionary measure ordered by Spain’s Supreme Court affects CERA registration for people who acquired nationality through the law’s presumed-exile route, and the Constitutional Court upheld it. The dispute concerns the electoral consequences of new registrations and the administration of nationality claims. The Government’s State Legal Service has warned that implementing the suspension at scale would be practically impossible, highlighting the operational challenge posed by the volume of consular applications.
Feijóo has said that reforming the Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General (LOREG) would require broad parliamentary consensus and is unlikely to advance under the current government. He has argued that such changes could be implemented only if the PP secures a majority in the next legislature. The Spanish Constitution provides for proportional representation in each constituency, while the LOREG sets out the electoral rules. A parliamentary seat bonus would so alter the relationship between votes and seats and require legislative reform.
Trust in democratic institutions remains a recurring theme in Spanish politics. King Felipe VI recently highlighted the issue, calling for renewed confidence in democracy and consensus-building during a speech at the Club de Madrid. For more on the monarch’s perspective and the wider debate over democratic trust in Spain, see the recent coverage on King Felipe VI’s call for renewed faith in democracy.
The application window for nationality under the “ley de nietos” closed in October 2025. Authorities accepted appointment requests made before the cutoff, even when consular backlogs delayed processing. The expansion of the overseas electoral register and the continuing court dispute over a category of registrations have sharpened debate over representation. Feijóo’s seat-bonus proposal has brought governability into the discussion ahead of the next general election.
