The PP warns of possible 'electoral engineering' with the Grandchildren's Law, and the Government denies it

Alberto Núñez Feijóo accuses the Government of using the Grandchildren's Law to expand the electoral roll ahead of the 2027 elections. The Executive rejects the suspicions and defends the legality of the process.

The controversy surrounding the Grandchildren's Law has escalated to the forefront of politics. The leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has denounced that the Government could be using the process of granting nationality to descendants of exiles to alter the electoral roll ahead of the general elections in 2027. La Moncloa has responded by accusing the PP of sowing unfounded doubts about the integrity of the democratic system.

According to official data from the Executive, 2.4 million applications for appointments to benefit from the eighth additional provision of the Democratic Memory Law have been registered. Of these, more than 1.2 million files have already been submitted at consulates, 544,722 have been approved, and around 306,000 people are already registered in consular records. This growth in the external electoral roll is the argument that Génova uses to demand more transparency.

Feijóo speaks of 'electoral engineering'

In an interview on Esradio, Feijóo stated that the Government intends to expand the electoral body because “with the current voters, the numbers don't add up.” The popular leader went so far as to describe the process as possible “electoral engineering” and called for clarity on how constituencies will be assigned to the newly naturalised, especially when they have no territorial link to a Spanish province. He also requested information about the management in consulates such as Cuba, where part of the administrative work has been outsourced. The PP has tasked its migration policy team with specific monitoring of the procedure to ensure that all legal guarantees are respected.

“The Government is using the Grandchildren's Law to incorporate new voters because with the current ones, the numbers don't add up,” declared Feijóo.

For the PP, the volume of applications —2.4 million appointments— justifies opening a debate on the electoral consequences of the measure. They believe the process must be transparent and that parties have the right to know the details of the processing. The popular leadership insists that their concern is not the voting intention but the procedure.

The Government defends the legality of the process

From La Moncloa, they categorically reject any electoral purpose. The Executive reminds that the Democratic Memory Law, passed in 2022, responds to a criterion of historical reparation for the descendants of Spaniards who lost or renounced their nationality due to exile. Feijóo's statements, according to government sources, trivialise a right recognised by Parliament and cast suspicion on the work of consular officials. The Government emphasises that the very constitutional challenge presented by the PP against the law did not seek to eliminate the provision on nationality.

In the PSOE, they interpret the PP's offensive as an attempt to anticipate a possible questioning of future electoral results if they do not favour them. The Executive insists that the process is fully regulated and that any suspicion of manipulation is unfounded. Furthermore, they remind that the electoral impact of the external roll is limited: in the July 2023 elections, the Electoral Roll of Absent Residents (CERA) had just over 2.3 million voters, but participation tends to be low.

For residents of the Community of Madrid, this controversy may have an indirect effect. The region has a significant community of descendants of exiles who could benefit from the law. If the increase in voters abroad is confirmed, the distribution of seats in provinces like Madrid could be affected, although experts believe the change would be marginal. For now, the debate remains open, and the PP is expected to bring the matter to Congress in the coming weeks.