Carter Center Election Expert Mission Preliminary Statement on the Colombia Presidential Runoff (June 21, 2026)

The Carter Center deployed an eleven-member Election Expert Mission (EEM) to Bogotá on May 12, 2026, in response to an invitation from the electoral authorities to observe the presidential election. The Carter Center EEM focused on key aspects of the electoral process: the legal framework, work of the election management bodies, political party and candidate registration, electoral justice, the use of election technology, and voter education efforts. The Center assesses elections based on national law and international standards for democratic elections in accordance with the Declaration of Principles for Electoral Observation. Team members visited polling centers in Bogotá during opening, voting, and closing processes. However, the mission did not comprehensively observe election day counting and tabulation. The Carter Center will release a final report on the elections, with recommendations related to those aspects of the process it observed.