Spain citizenship law for exiles' descendants triggers row over votes

July 1 - Spain's reparations law granting descendants of Spaniards the right to citizenship has sparked a heated political debate, with right-wing opposition figures accusing the government of trying to sway next year’s elections with new voters.

At least 544,722 people have so far been granted citizenship under the law passed in 2022, with 306,000 registering on the electoral roll, according to government data. Around 650,000 applications remain unprocessed.

Right-wing politicians this week accused the Socialists, without evidence, of interfering in applications from countries whose citizens were less likely to support them, and of registering new voters in battleground areas to secure a handful of extra seats. Far-right party Vox on Tuesday called for all mail-in votes from abroad to be suspended.

The rhetoric, echoing claims by Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro and U.S. President Donald Trump's allegations of rigged election systems ahead of major votes, comes as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez faces pressure to call early elections before August 2027 amid a parliamentary gridlock and corruption scandals in his inner circle.

Polls suggest the conservative People's Party, or PP, will win the most votes but requires Vox's support to govern.

"Since the numbers don't add up for [Sanchez] with the current voters, he's going to see if manufacturing voters will," PP leader Alberto Nuñez Feijoo said on Spanish radio on Monday.

Spain's government rejected Feijoo's accusation as "profoundly irresponsible", saying it has no say over where new citizens register to vote. Applications closed last October.

It also accused opposition figures of conflating the law with Spain's three-month amnesty drive, which grants legal residency - but not citizenship or voting rights - to undocumented migrants, after Vox alleged that scheme was another covert bid to shift the electoral balance.

EXTENDING REPARATIONS

The "Democratic Memory" law builds on a 2007 measure granting citizenship to the grandchildren of roughly half a million exiles from Spain's 1936-39 civil war and the subsequent dictatorship of Francisco Franco, as well as first-generation descendants of Spaniards abroad.

In 2022, Sanchez's government extended citizenship rights to the adult children of those who received it under the 2007 law, descendants of people persecuted for their sexuality or beliefs and women who lost their citizenship after marrying foreigners during the Franco era.

Several European countries offer citizenship to descendants of exiled nationals. Italy, Ireland, Poland and Hungary, among others, also extend it to grandchildren regardless of political history.

Just 9% of Spain's 2.3-million-strong diaspora voted in the 2023 election, according to official data.

Overseas votes have leaned towards the Socialists in some regional ballots this year, although the party has lost heavily at home. REUTERS