The Tribunal Constitucional on 21 October 2026 rejected the interim application by the Defensor del Pueblo against the suspension of voting rights for people who were naturalised under the provisions of the so-called Ley de Nietos According to official and media reports, the ruling concerns around 160,000 to 163,000 people and directly affects their participation in the parliamentary elections scheduled for 29 November 2026 .
Ten of the twelve judges voted not to admit the application; two members announced dissenting opinions. President Cándido Conde-Pumpido supported the majority decision. The reporting judge Enrique Arnaldo argued, according to consistent accounts, that the application was premature and breached the constitutional principle of subsidiarity, because the proceedings before the Tribunal Supremo had not yet concluded. The provisional suspension of voting rights ordered by the Supreme Court on 12 October 2026 therefore remains in force.
The vote produced an unusual outcome: on a politically charged issue, some judges regarded as progressive broke ranks. The dissenting judges named are Juan Carlos Campo and Ramón Sáez, who have announced separate opinions. Observers see this as a sign of the court distancing itself more strongly from day-to-day politics, without this constituting a preliminary decision on the substance of the case.
The Defensor del Pueblo justified the urgent application by pointing to the tight electoral timetable and the risk of irreparable interference with voting rights. The Tribunal Constitucional nevertheless found that the conditions for immediate intervention had not been met and referred to the Tribunal Supremo’s primary jurisdiction. The substantive question of whether, and to what extent, those naturalised under the Ley de Nietos can be added to the electoral registers before polling day therefore remains open.
Politically, the decision shifts the pressure back to the Tribunal Supremo and the electoral authorities, which oversee registrations and deadlines. Government representatives said they respected the procedural decision but noted that the fundamental question of voting rights had not yet been decided. The opposition pointed to the importance of clear rules for the electoral register and equal treatment. Whether any changes are made before 29 November 2026 now depends largely on how the proceedings before the Tribunal Supremo progress.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).