Supreme Court judge backs controversial suspension of voting rights for descendants of exiles

A Supreme Court order, drafted by magistrate Antonio Narváez, has placed a temporary ban on the voting rights of Spaniards who acquired citizenship via the 2022 democratic memory law that restores nationality to descendants of political exiles. Narváez, previously a constitutional court judge and former deputy head of the State Prosecutor's Office, publicly expressed support for the opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo and has a history of questioning the Indra vote-counting system.

The ruling overturns the earlier decision of the Central Electoral Board, which had rejected a request by Vox to suspend the citizenship-reciprocity instruction. Legal analysts describe the Supreme Court's action as untimely, disproportionate and a breach of constitutional guarantees, noting that the instruction it challenges was published years ago and the appeal period has long expired. The case highlights the dominance of right-leaning judges in the court's administrative chamber and raises concerns about the politicisation of Spain's judiciary.