Spain's Sánchez Accused of Election Fraud via 'Ley de Nietos

Vox leader Santiago Abascal and journalists have accused Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of using the 2022 "Ley de Nietos" to grant Spanish nationality to descendants of emigrants and inflate the overseas voter roll ahead of the 2027 general election. Isabel Durán, writing in El Debate, warned that "bajo el paraguas de la «Ley de Nietos» el PSOE y el Gobierno han encontrado un colosal coladero para agigantar el censo español de votantes en el exterior". Media reports note that the law, originally intended to compensate victims of the Civil War and Francoist exile, has already added about 600,000 new voters and received roughly 2.5 million applications.

A separate commentary links the controversy to a broader pattern of alleged manipulation by Sánchez, referencing the 2024 amnesty for "procés" prisoners and suggesting a history of shifting positions to maintain power. Critics claim the lack of rigorous verification in consular offices enables the alleged fraud, while Abascal has publicly declared, "Sánchez está actuando para robar las próximas elecciones en España".