The Spanish extraparlimentary party Iustitia Europa submitted a document to the Supreme Court on Friday requesting the exclusion from the judicial procedure regarding the Grandchildren's Law of two associations that defend the beneficiaries of this regulation: Cubans for Democracy and Spanish Ancestors Worldwide.
The central argument of Iustitia Europa is that both entities lack procedural legitimacy to intervene in the litigation.
According to the document sent to the Supreme Court, the associations "do not hold any ownership" over the powers of the Electoral Administration, nor do they have "an individualized legal position regarding the challenged agreement."
The party also argues that the controversy revolves around the electoral and census effects of the Law of Grandchildren—not on the acquisition of Spanish nationality—so that "the eventual acceptance of their demand would impact the obligations of oversight, review, traceability, and control of the Central Electoral Board and the Electoral Census Office."
The maneuver aims to silence before the Supreme Court two of the main organizations representing Cubans and other descendants of exiled Spaniards affected by the precautionary suspension of voting, at a time when the deadline to appear in the proceedings expires on October 22.
Iustitia Europa is the same party that, alongside Vox, challenged before the Supreme Court the 2022 instruction from the Ministry of Justice, which presumed the status of exile for all Spaniards who left the country between 1936 and 1955 without the need for documentary evidence.
As a result of those resources, the Supreme Court provisionally suspended in September the registrations in the electoral roll of those affected by the Grandchildren Law.
On October 12, the Administrative Contentious Chamber rejected the appeal from the State Counsel and upheld the suspension, which potentially affects 163,020 registered voters in the Census of Absent Residents Abroad (CERA). The Prosecutor's Office had also requested to allow voting, but the Supreme Court did not consider that request either.
It is important to emphasize that the suspension does not invalidate the Spanish nationalities granted nor does it repeal the Law of Democratic Memory: it only temporarily restricts the electoral effects of certain registrations in the CERA regarding the general elections on November 29. Those who have been naturalized through this process and reside in Spain are not affected.
In parallel with the request for exclusion, the legal front has intensified on several fronts. The Center for Descendants of United Spaniards (Ce.DEU) submitted allegations to the Supreme Court requesting the lifting of the precautionary measure, arguing that this action discriminates against those living outside of Spain compared to others who were naturalized under the same law and reside in the country.
The Ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, went further and filed an appeal for protection before the Constitutional Court requesting extremely urgent measures so that those affected can vote on November 29. Iustitia Europa responded this Saturday with an urgent document to the Constitutional Court opposing that request.
Meanwhile, those affected have until October 22 to appear before the Supreme Court as co-defendants, with a lawyer and representative, according to the resolution published in the Official State Bulletin on October 15.
Iustitia Europa has identified the period from October 24 to 30 as critical, as the dispatch of electoral documentation to those registered in the CERA is scheduled during this time.
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