Key facts
- Over 1.17 million unauthorized migrants applied for legal status in Spain.
- Nearly 610,000 applicants have received provisional residency and work permits.
- Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo accused Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of electoral engineering.
- Feijóo alleged the government aimed to expand its voter base through migrant legalization.
- The government stated beneficiaries of the legalization cannot vote in Spanish elections.
- The far-right Vox party called for a review of migration policies and mail-in voting.
Spain's opposition has accused Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of electoral engineering following a recent mass migrant legalization drive. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the center-right People’s Party, alleged that Sánchez aimed to expand his voter base by granting residency and work permits to over a million migrants.
Feijóo claimed that the addition of 1.3 million people through this legalization, alongside other government policies, would significantly increase the electorate. He also referenced the 2022 "grandchildren's law," which grants citizenship to descendants of Spaniards who fled the country during the civil war and Franco's dictatorship, suggesting a pattern of expanding the electorate.
Sánchez's government dismissed Feijóo's comments as "profoundly irresponsible," stating that he deliberately conflated two distinct policies. The government clarified that beneficiaries of the recent legalization process, who received residency permits, are not eligible to vote in Spanish regional or national elections, as voting rights are reserved for citizens. Feijóo later appeared to soften his stance on the "grandchildren's law" but maintained concerns about government transparency.
The far-right Vox party echoed criticism, labeling the migration policies as "silent electoral fraud" and calling for a review of existing legislation and the suspension of mail-in voting for Spaniards abroad. The Spanish Ministry of Migration announced that nearly 1.2 million unauthorized migrants applied for legal status, with over 600,000 receiving provisional permits. The majority of applicants were from Central and South America, with Colombians forming the largest group.