Vox on 18 October 2026 asked the Tribunal Constitucional to refuse to admit the amparo application submitted by the Defensor del Pueblo concerning the suspension of voting rights for people naturalised under the so-called Ley de Nietos as inadmissible. The party led by Santiago Abascal argues that no current breach of a fundamental right has been demonstrated and that the application is premature, since the Tribunal Supremo still has until 22 October 2026 to receive submissions from those affected.
The trigger was a move by the Defensor del Pueblo, Ángel Gabilondo, who appealed to the Constitutional Court on 16 October 2026 and requested particularly urgent protective measures. He is challenging the interpretation of the Tribunal Supremo, which on 12 October 2026 provisionally suspended the exercise of active voting rights by people who had recently acquired Spanish nationality under the Ley de Nietos. This regulation forms part of the Ley de Memoria Democrática. According to the Defensor del Pueblo institution, the decision affects 163,020 people in the Censo Electoral de Residentes Ausentes registered individuals.
Vox argues that the Supreme Court kept the proceedings open and duly summoned the parties to participate; therefore, the case lacks the special constitutional significance required for immediate intervention by the Tribunal Constitucional. The Defensor del Pueblo counters that the case concerns the provisional restriction of a constitutionally protected voting right and the question of how far administrative practice and its judicial review are compatible with constitutional electoral principles. The positions are thus clearly defined: while Vox focuses on the procedural stage and admissibility, the Defensor gives priority to substantive fundamental-rights concerns.
Two questions are central to the legal issues: the scope of interim measures that interfere with voting rights, and the limits of administrative interpretation when applying the naturalisation rules in the Ley de Memoria Democrática. The dispute is politically sensitive because elections are due in the coming weeks, and practical consequences may follow for registered voters abroad.
The Tribunal Constitucional will now decide what happens next. It is unclear whether it will impose precautionary measures or dismiss the application as inadmissible. Any prediction about the outcome would be speculation at this point; the key factor is the tight timeframe up to 22 October 2026 and – if a decision comes later – up to the parliamentary election on 29 November 2026.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).