• The electoral day is proceeding normally. Six voting stations in five municipalities across two departments have been relocated due to weather conditions during the day.
• MOE emphasizes that the main indicator of the success of the electoral process should not lie in the speed of the delivery of results, but rather in the transparency, certainty, and trust they generate among citizens, political organizations, and other stakeholders.
• Since the beginning of the electoral day, MOE has received reports of electoral irregularities in 49 municipalities across 22 departments. We remind citizens that any irregularities encountered while exercising their right to vote can be reported through www.pilasconelvoto.com or via WhatsApp at +57 315 266 1969.

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Bogotá D. C., March 8th, 2026. The Electoral Observation Mission —MOE—, a civil society organization in Colombia, presents to authorities, the media, organizations, and citizens its first observation report, corresponding to the opening of the electoral day for the 2026 Congressional Elections and Presidential Primaries (Colombians are choosing presidential candidates). This document compiles information reported by 70% of the deployed electoral observers, 14% of whom are located in rural areas, as well as reports submitted by citizens through the ‘Pilas con el voto’ platform www.pilasconelvoto.com

The observation indicates that the electoral day is proceeding normally, with only a few isolated incidents reported across the national territory.

MOE reminds voting juries to offer voters the option to choose one of the electoral ballots of the constituencies of the Congress of the Republic, namely: national or indigenous Senate, territorial chambers, or special districts. It also urges them to inform voters of the availability of the presidential candidates consultation ballot.

The Presidency of the Republic reported that the police seized more than 4 billion Colombian pesos, which were being transported in cash to various locations throughout the country. MOE strongly calls on political organizations to fulfill their ethical responsibility in endorsing candidates and urges them to strengthen their selection processes to ensure that candidates promote the integrity and legitimacy of our democracy.

In this regard, MOE makes a firm call to political organizations regarding their ethical responsibility in granting party endorsements and urges them to strengthen their candidate selection processes to ensure candidacies that promote the integrity and legitimacy of our democracy.

This report covers observations from the start of the electoral day until 10:00 a.m.

We highlight the following points:

1. International Women’s Day and Violence Against Women in Politics (VAWP)

MOE recalls that since November 8, 2025, the official start of the congressional electoral campaign, there have been 10 incidents of violence against female candidates (eight threats and two kidnappings).

MOE also notes with concern that during this election campaign, there has been evidence of offensive language and expressions on social media that seek to delegitimize women’s political participation and may constitute symbolic violence. Such situations not only undermine the quality of democratic debate, but also contribute to perpetuating stereotypes that affect the exercise of politics on equal terms.

2. Impacts on the Electoral Day due to rainy season

Due to the rainy season, six voting stations were relocated today: five in the department of Cauca, in the municipalities of Caldono, López de Micay, and Corinto; and one more in Antioquia, in the municipality of San Andrés de Cuerquía.

This is in addition to the relocation of 20 voting stations on Friday and Saturday in the departments of Córdoba and Caquetá.

These relocations affected at least 77,488 registered voters.

3. Public order incidents

MOE condemns the vandalism of the voting station that occurred last night in the village of Barrancavieja, municipality of Calamar, Bolívar, and acknowledges the swift response of authorities, thanks to which the station is operating normally today.

Meanwhile, at the rural voting station of Santa Cruz in San Antero, Córdoba, community protests against the municipal administration prevented the voting station from opening.

4. Political parties reports

The MIRA party reported that, in some voting stations, electoral witnesses with digital accreditation have not been allowed to enter. This situation has occurred in cities such as Ipiales, Bogotá (Kennedy and Ciudad Bolívar districts), Villavicencio, and Valledupar. According to the party, the case has already been reported to the National Unified Command Post (PMU), noting that digital accreditation has the same validity as printed accreditation. However, the issue has not yet been resolved.

Finally, various political parties have informed MOE that at some voting stations, jurors are not informing citizens or handing out the cards corresponding to the presidential primaries. MOE requests that the National Civil Registry reiterate the instructions to voting station delegates and jurors to ensure that these cards are handed out to voters.

5. Pilas con el Voto

The Pilas con el voto app (www.pilasconelvoto.com) and the WhatsApp line 3152661969 were available to citizens for reporting possible irregularities during election day.

As of 10:30 a.m., the app has received 91 reports of possible electoral irregularities and crimes in 49 municipalities, distributed across 22 departments and Bogotá, in addition to two reports from abroad. 

Irregularities affecting freedom of vote 

34% of citizen reports relate to possible pressure or incentives on voters. It is also important to note that some reports indicate that there are people who enter the voting booth with voters and mark the ballots for them. The areas with the highest number of reports are Bogotá, Barranquilla, Sincelejo, and Popayán.

Electoral propaganda irregularities

Despite the ban on advertising on election day, 35% of the reports received refer to political propaganda in the vicinity of voting stations. These reports have been filed mainly in the cities of Bogotá, Medellín, Barrancabermeja, and Soacha.

Operation of voting stations, juries, witnesses, and observers

Likewise, 31% of reports are associated with problems related to the functioning of voting stations and voting juries, including situations related to delays in opening stations or tables, the use of cell phones inside the stations, and problems with the admission of witnesses and observers. This was reported mainly in the cities of Bogotá, Barranquilla, Santa Rosa de Viterbo, and Neiva.

6. On the electoral observation

MOE deployed its observation jointly with 34 regional teams located in 31 departments of Colombia. This exercise covers 75% of the country’s electoral potential and has gathered the following information:

The observers noted violations of the principle of neutrality at voting stations: at 17% of the stations observed, jurors were identified as wearing political campaign insignia. This is particularly relevant since, by law and as the highest authority at the stations, they must act with independence, neutrality, and impartiality.

Likewise, at 21% of the observed voting tables, the observers reported seeing electoral witnesses wearing campaign badges or items other than their official credentials, a situation that also affects the atmosphere of neutrality that should characterize election day.

In this regard, MOE requests that political groups strictly comply with current regulations, and that electoral authorities reinforce their supervision and control of permitted identification, both for jurors and electoral witnesses, limited exclusively to the use of their official credentials.

MOE therefore calls on political organizations to strictly comply with existing regulations, and on electoral authorities to strengthen supervision and oversight regarding permitted identification for polling officials and electoral witnesses, limited exclusively to the use of their official credentials.

Regarding identification mechanisms and the use of electoral technology, 40% of observed voting stations did not have biometric machines available, highlighting that the implementation of this technology remains a challenge for the country.

In addition, observation teams reported that 27% of observed polling tables experienced issues with the use of the digital ID, indicating the need to strengthen procedures and improve the availability and functioning of technological equipment used during election day.

7. Electoral observation with differential approach

According to information collected by the observation team:

• Most of the observation deployment with a differential approach identified informational posters with QR codes linking to protocols guaranteeing the rights of trans people and people with disabilities, although these were not sufficiently visible.
• 35% of observed voting stations do not have a place where trans people can file complaints regarding discrimination or restrictions on voting related to gender identity.
• Regarding disability inclusion, 22% of observers reported that the voting stations observed do not have adequate physical accessibility conditions to facilitate autonomous mobility for people with disabilities.
• The observation team noted that 14% of polling stations did not have voting booths with reasonable accommodations.

We remind citizens that the Registrar’s Office has measures in place such as Braille ballots, cubicles with reasonable accommodations, and the possibility of voting with an accompanying person, all of which must be guaranteed throughout the election day.

Finally, given the technical complexity and expected volume of complaints during this Congress Election Day on March 8, MOE reiterates that the main indicator of success of the process should not be the speed of delivering results but rather the transparency, certainty, and trust they generate among citizens, political organizations, and other stakeholders. Thus, MOE recalls that the strength of the Colombian democracy must prioritize certainty in the results over the speed of the count.

PUBLICACIONES RELACIONADAS:

• Second report Electoral Observation Mission MOE – Elections to the Presidency of the Republic. First round
• Misión de Observación Electoral/Electoral Observation Mission – Second report on 2026 National Congress and Presidential Primary Elections
• Second report Election Observation Mission – MOE Elections to the presidency of the republic second round
• First report Election Observation Mission MOE – Elections to the Presidency of the Republic. First roud
• First report Electoral Observation Mission Colombia – Congressional elections and inter-party consultations