The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, acknowledged this Monday that it will be "very difficult" for the consulates to be able to verify in time who obtained nationality under the so-called 'grandchild law' and are descendants of exiles so that they can vote in the elections on November 29, as requested by the Supreme Court.
In statements on Telecinco, reported by Europa Press, the minister assured that as soon as the notification from the Supreme Court was received, a telegram "with very precise instructions" was sent to all the consulates so that they act "diligently" and "mobilize all the personnel they need", in addition to canceling all the permits of the consuls.
Albares has indicated that the Electoral Census Office already has the data of those nationalized in 2025 and 2026, since they were included directly through DICIREG, the new digital Civil Registry, to be able to verify who is actually descended from exiles and therefore have the right to vote.
As for the rest of the cases, the minister explained that "a computer tool has been created to upload the data so that the Electoral Census Office has it", a procedure that must be done "manually", he highlighted.
Albares recalled at this point that the General Directorate of Consular Affairs had already informed, through the General State Attorney's Office, that it would take "at least until January" to complete this process and has stressed that if it was already "difficult" to arrive on time for the regional and municipal elections in May, "in such a short period of time it seems even more difficult."
However, he assured that "all means are being used." "It won't be up to us," he added, emphasizing that "no one is forced to do the impossible."
Defense of the consuls against PP and Vox
On the other hand, he has taken the opportunity again to come out in defense of the consuls and the Foreign Service personnel in the face of what he has described as a "campaign of harassment, of insidiousness, on many personal occasions, with names and surnames and photographs of the consuls of Spain in the world."
Thus, he has defended that their "honorability and professionalism" cannot be questioned when what they are doing is a "supervening task", for which they have "totally limited time" and which comes in addition to their "daily tasks" such as registering births or issuing passports, in addition to the tasks related to the external vote for November 29.
In this sense, he has demanded that PP and Vox cease their attacks because "the professionalism and honorability of the consuls and all Foreign Service officials is at stake." "It's really something that I will never tolerate," he concluded. "I will always support them and always defend against these attacks from both the PP and Vox towards their professionalism," he assured.
The Constitutional Court begins its deliberations this week
The Constitutional Court will hold meetings of its First Section, Second Section and the Plenary this Monday and Tuesday, which will be held with the pending issue of the appeal for protection presented on Friday by the Ombudsman against the suspension of census registrations due to the 'grandchildren law'.
The First and Second Sections begin their deliberations on various matters at 10:30 a.m. this Wednesday, without the appeal on the 'grandchildren law' appearing on the agenda. The resolution on this last issue is urgent, since it affects thousands of naturalized citizens and their ability to vote in the general elections on November 29.
Sources from the Constitutional Court consulted by Servimedia indicated that it is foreseeable that the Second Section will accept the appeal from the Ombudsman and begin to analyze what to do. One of the options is that the magistrates choose to move the plenary session on Tuesday on whether to paralyze the suspension of census registrations agreed by the Supreme Court in application of the regulations in force on historical memory.
