The Congress ends with the requested vote that since 2011 is required of voters who live abroad

The reform will allow ballots to be downloaded, will enable more centers to vote in the ballot box and will give more time for voting and counting

MADRID, 9 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The plenary session of Congress has approved this Thursday the suppression of the requested vote that for more than ten years has been required of voters residing abroad and that will still be applied in the Andalusian elections on June 19. In its place, a series of measures have been approved aimed at facilitating the participation of voters from abroad, which are estimated to be in force after the summer.

In 2011, after the accumulation of complaints of irregularities with the vote of emigrants, especially in Galician elections, the main parties agreed on a system that obliges those registered in the Electoral Census of Absent Residents (CERA) to request the vote in advance to be able to exercise suffrage.

That system of the requested vote, agreed by the PP, PSOE, PNV and CiU, ended with a stroke of the pen the suspicions of fraud, but also caused the collapse of electoral participation from abroad. Over the years, even the promoters of that reform repented and advocated going back.

More than a decade later, the Constitutional Commission of Congress approved last week by a large majority a reform that does away with that requirement and instead introduces modifications to make it easier for foreign voters to vote in the ballot box at embassies and consulates, in addition to by post, and to ensure that your ballots arrive in time for counting in Spain.

The reform comes from a bill presented in February 2021 by the two groups that support the Government, the PSOE and United We Can, and which was frozen for successive extensions until last April. In recent weeks, its articles have been modified through amendments agreed with the PP and other opposition groups.

In the process, all matters unrelated to the requested vote and that had been raised in this reform were discarded, such as the lowering of the voting age to 16 years or the revision of the proportionality of the electoral system. These other proposals will already be discussed in the subcommission created in Congress to explore the possibility of a broader reform of the electoral law (LOREG).

The opinion was approved without votes against and with the support of PSOE, PP, Vox, United We Can, Citizens and PNV, while the independentistas of ERC, Bildu and Junts chose to abstain. In the vote this Thursday in plenary, only the BNG has already abstained.

The new procedure for those registered in the CERA will allow these voters to download the ballots from the Internet and will bring forward the traditional delivery of electoral documentation, with which they will be able to choose between the two options.

To facilitate electoral participation, the centers for voting in the ballot box will be expanded, not only the embassies but all the consulates and official centers that are enabled. And in the same way, the hours and days of voting will be extended. The main parties ruled out other options such as the telematic vote and the vote by proxy that the Catalan separatists defended, since they consider that they do not offer sufficient guarantees.

In addition, the sending of votes cast abroad will be protected by establishing that they be sent to Spain by diplomatic bag. Consequently, the deadline for counting is extended by two days so that the ballots arrive on time.

Other changes establish that the Central Electoral Board must make a report of the measures that are being taken and that the CERA will be updated every five years to have more localized voters.

The text approved this Thursday will now be sent to the Senate to complete its processing, and given the high level of consensus, no new changes are expected, with which it is calculated that it will be in the BOE at the turn of the summer and that it will already be applied in the next general election.