Bogota, Colombia – On Sunday, Colombians will elect their representatives to Congress and begin whittling down a long list of presidential candidates.
Some humanitarian groups warn that the integrity of elections and democratic processes are threatened in areas where violence is rampant. President Gustavo Petro also criticized transparency issues and publicly expressed doubts about the poll’s clarity.
But authorities sought to reassure the public Wednesday by unveiling a “democracy plan” that combines a massive security deployment with measures to ensure the integrity of the democratic process.
Election Integrity
Elections for both houses of parliament are scheduled for this Sunday, March 8, and citizens will also be able to choose their preferred presidential candidate from a list of leading candidates. However, no notable frontrunners are listed. One presidential election is scheduled to be held on May 31st and the second on June 21st.
However, there are also concerns about election fraud. On Tuesday, Petro revived baseless warnings he made in 2018 about election software and signaled that voting polls should be challenged. This request is controversial and unprecedented because, in addition to slowing down the vote count, it calls into question the democratic system itself.
The next day, the Minister of Defense, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the Inspector General, the National Registrar and the Auditor General met to define protection and security measures to ensure freedom of voting and announced the ‘Democracy Plan 2026’.
At the press conference following the meeting, Petro’s comments were responded to and details of the security measures taken to ensure a transparent election day were shared.
“I want to call attention to this: It is perfectly valid to have doubts, human errors can happen, but raising questions is a resource only for mistakes that are actually proven. This is an exception, not a standard,” said Carlos Hernán Rodríguez, the comptroller general who oversees funds given to candidates during the election process.
Hernán also said all three votes for Senate, House of Representatives and President would be scanned and posted.
“I truly believe that ‘malice’ should not be presumed unless all warranties are provided and there is no evidence of wrongdoing,” he said. “The number of election witnesses is increasing to more than 750,000, and the number of auditors is moving from 190 to about 10,000 auditors from various political parties.”
security measures
Authorities also laid out several measures taken to ensure the electoral process, insisting that everything is in place to ensure voter confidence and safety.
“We are talking about 120,000 police officers trained to be deployed to polling places, while at the same time 146,000 troops will be deployed there to protect every polling station in the country,” Interior Minister Armando Benedetti said.
However, the plan of action cannot be the same in all areas as organized crime groups such as the ELN still exist and control some areas.
“We highlight the 47 municipalities, representing 4% of the country, which are points and places where we need to deploy different plans with regard to security capabilities, and who are classified as at risk of threats of violence,” said Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Election violence: A shadow cast over the polls
This election season has already been marred by violence. Most notably, presidential candidate and senator Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot in June 2025 and died from his injuries two months later.
At least five new attacks on candidates have been recorded in the past few days. In Nariño state, the brother of Claudia Cabrera, a candidate for the House of Representatives, was murdered. In another case, María Bolívar Maury, a candidate for the House of Representatives in the state of Atlántico, condemned a shooting attack on her car.
In response, Armando Benedetti detailed strengthened protection measures for presidential candidates. He said 12 committees have been created to protect the 64 candidates and monitor their election process.
Inspector General Gregorio Elsach also emphasized efforts to protect democratic exercise through what he called “electoral peace.”
“We are trying to prevent or evoke incidents of extreme violence against Colombians,” Eljach said.
He said authorities had analyzed 39 variables to categorize security risks into three scenarios, and that the monitoring had yielded positive results, with “points of extreme violence surrounding the election significantly reduced.”
The defense minister also said police in the states of La Guajira and Córdoba this week seized 145 million Colombian pesos (about $36,250) and 434 million pesos (about $108,500) in cash in connection with vote-buying cases.
He shared this information as evidence of the stringent measures taken by authorities to protect the electoral process and prevent election-related crimes, beyond mere concerns of violence.
Protecting the Tradition of Democracy
Despite Petro’s claims and recent instances of election violence, authorities insist the rules of the game are the same as always.
“The electoral system is the same that has elected presidents for decades, including the current one,” said Hernán Penagos, the national registrar responsible for ensuring transparency in opinion polls.
Authorities aim to reassure citizens that the country is ready to vote peacefully and democratically.
“We are various state institutions working together. Citizens are guaranteed that their vote can be cast with due confidence,” concluded Interior Minister Armando Benedetti.
Featured Image Description: Officials gather to present their “democracy plan.”
Featured image source: Procuradoria, Colombia.
