Spain’s Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, said that as many as 500,000 new Spanish citizens could be eligible to vote by the summer of 2027 as applications under the Democratic Memory Law are processed. Responding to mounting criticism from the Partido Popular (PP) over the so-called “ley de nietos” and its potential impact on the electoral roll, Torres said the process mirrors previous expansions of nationality and rejected accusations of deliberate acceleration or manipulation.
The “ley de nietos” is the nationality provision in the 2022 Ley de Memoria Democrática, specifically its eighth additional provision. It allows certain descendants of Spaniards, including descendants of people who lost or renounced Spanish nationality because of exile during the Civil War and Franco dictatorship, to apply for citizenship. Applicants, people recognized as eligible, passport holders and voters registered abroad are distinct groups: acquiring nationality does not itself establish how many people will register to vote in the Censo Electoral de Residentes Ausentes (CERA).
The PP has accused the government of “electoral engineering” and census manipulation, particularly because most of the 2.4 million applicants are expected to meet the requirements for Spanish nationality. Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has alleged that the government is trying to “colar 2,4 millones de nuevos votantes” and described the process as “un fraude y una ingeniería electoral clarísima.” That figure is a political claim about applicants, not a confirmed total of newly enfranchised voters. Torres said more than 300,000 applicants already hold Spanish passports and nearly 600,000 have been recognized as eligible. He noted that similar legislative changes took place under Felipe González and José María Aznar, and criticized the PP for what he called inconsistent positions in Madrid and Buenos Aires. Feijóo has called the measure “No es ni ley, ni de nietos” and argued for stricter nationality requirements.
On the nationality criteria, Torres said the current instruction, introduced on 25 October 2022, presumes exile status for Spaniards who left the country between July 1936 and December 1955. The dispute concerns eligibility for nationality and how authorities distinguish people who can prove descent from exiles from those whose cases rely on the instruction’s presumption. Many applicants are descendants of people who emigrated for social or economic reasons during the dictatorship, he said, questioning the timing of the controversy. Most applications have come from Argentina, which has impressive Galician, Canarian and Asturian communities.
The dispute has also reached the courts. The Supreme Court ordered the suspension of voting rights for people naturalized under the provision who cannot demonstrate that they are descendants of exiles. The Ombudsman challenged the suspension before the Constitutional Court, which declined to admit the challenge as premature. That procedural decision did not amount to a final, universal ruling on every affected person’s nationality or voting entitlement. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has said it would be “muy difícil” for consulates to complete the required individual verification in time. Torres has urged the Supreme Court to resolve the issue before voting begins, warning of a “pucherazo.”
Torres stressed that only public officials validate nationality files, although consular services have been reinforced to meet high demand. He criticized PP leaders Feijóo and Isabel Díaz Ayuso for casting doubt on civil servants’ integrity, calling the claims unfounded. The administrative question is how consulates and electoral authorities will classify individual cases and ensure the overseas electoral roll reflects the applicable requirements. The PP has pressed the Foreign Ministry to provide the Electoral Census Office with information distinguishing cases based directly on recognized exile from those processed under the 2022 instruction.
The minister also addressed broader concerns about judicial independence, citing recent high-profile cases and perceptions of “lawfare” in Spain. He argued that while most judges act fairly, the public spectacle surrounding some investigations undermines trust in the justice system. Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun has separately criticized the voting restrictions, describing them as an “operación para quitar el voto a ciudadanos que son de pleno derecho.”
Torres also discussed the Supreme Court’s decision to reduce the sentence of Víctor de Aldama, a central figure in the “caso Koldo,” after he cooperated with authorities. He expressed concern that convicted individuals are sometimes portrayed as anti-corruption champions and said he had filed a defamation complaint against Aldama. The debate over political accountability also touched on Torres’s comparison of the PSOE’s handling of internal investigations with the PP’s response to past scandals.
Debate over immigration policy has intensified, with Feijóo criticizing the extension of healthcare and education rights to regularized immigrants. Torres accused the PP of selective memory, recalling that nearly 600,000 immigrants were regularized under Aznar. He said the current rhetoric is driven by political ambition and warned that the PP’s alignment with Vox has shifted the political field, giving far-right positions greater influence in regional coalitions.
The controversy also concerns implementation of the Democratic Memory Law, including the removal of Francoist symbols and the resignification of the Valle de Cuelgamuros. Torres acknowledged ongoing legal challenges and resistance from some regional administrations, but said the government remains committed to enforcing the law and starting work as soon as possible. He added that sanctions apply to non-compliance and that an independent commission is reviewing additional monuments and inscriptions for removal.
Recent judicial decisions have drawn public attention to the handling of corruption cases in Spain. In a separate development, a court in Alicante sentenced a couple to more than 13 years in prison for killing and dismembering their flatmate, a case that highlighted the complexities of criminal investigations and the role of the justice system. Details are available in the report on the Alicante flatmate murder sentencing.
