Right-wing forces in Spain have taken a page out of the Trump playbook by casting doubt on the legitimacy of postal voting.

Vox leader Santiago Abascal and Madrid president Isabel Diaz Ayuso both urged Spaniards to vote in person in the November 29 general election, despite presenting no evidence that postal ballots are vulnerable to fraud.

Their comments have triggered accusations of trying to undermine confidence in the electoral system and exposed divisions within the Partido Popular (PP).

Abascal first urged voters not to use the postal system during a television interview shortly after Pedro Sanchez announced the election.

‘I encourage you not to vote by post,’ Abascal said. ‘Vote at the ballot box, because right now I trust absolutely nothing that Pedro Sanchez might do.’

Ayuso, the PP president of the Madrid region, went even further by warning about a possible pucherazo – a Spanish term commonly used to describe electoral fraud or vote-rigging.

‘I ask everyone not to even think about voting by post,’ she said, while accusing Sanchez of being ‘the biggest trickster and cheat in the history of democracy’.

Ayuso also warned of unspecified ‘tricks’ and ‘schemes’ surrounding the election, but did not offer evidence of irregularities within the postal voting system.

The remarks prompted an immediate backlash from the PSOE and parts of the Spanish media, with critics accusing both politicians of borrowing from the electoral playbook of Trump.

Trump repeatedly attacked postal voting before the 2020 US presidential election and later promoted false claims that widespread fraud had cost him victory.

Socialist parliamentary spokesman Patxi Lopez described the comments in Spain as ‘not just Trumpism, but anti-democratic’, while broadcaster Aimar Bretos branded Ayuso’s allegations ‘irresponsible’ and ‘dangerous’.

The controversy has also revealed differences within the Partido Popular.

While Ayuso has openly warned voters against using postal ballots, the PP’s national leadership has defended the integrity of the electoral process.

Party spokesman Borja Semper said Spain’s voting system was ‘guaranteed’ and subject to checks overseen by the Central Electoral Board, on which the PP is represented.

He urged Spaniards to vote ‘by land, sea and air’, whether in person or by post, distancing the party’s national leadership from Ayuso’s claims.

Madrid mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida also said citizens should use any legally available method to cast their ballots.

PP leader Alberto Nuñez Feijoo has so far avoided publicly endorsing the allegations.

Sanchez calls for calm

Pedro Sanchez responded by urging voters to remain calm and suggesting that the warnings reflected uncertainty among the opposition about its chances of winning.

‘The fact that they are already casting doubt on the electoral process perhaps means they do not see their victory as being as certain as they claim,’ the prime minister said.

The row has erupted at the beginning of what is expected to be a bitterly fought campaign, after Sanchez called a snap election for November 29 following the defeat of two flagship housing decrees in Congress.

Opinion polls currently give the PP and Vox a combined path to a parliamentary majority, although the experience of the 2023 general election – when the right performed worse than many surveys had predicted – has made both parties wary of declaring victory in advance.