The National Registry and the Attorney General's Office urged citizens to trust electoral processes and participate actively to strengthen democracy. At an event with business leaders, they emphasized transparency and citizen oversight ahead of the 2026 elections. They warned about high abstention rates and the risk of violence in the polls.
At the National Congress of Retail Fuel Distributors, Attorney General Gregorio Eljach Pacheco and National Registrar Hernán Penagos addressed concerns about the 2026 electoral processes for Congress and the Presidency of the Republic.
Eljach assured that “no ha pasado nada que indique que haya interés de algún sector social u oficial de alterar el calendario electoral”. He stressed that elections must be free, transparent, secure, timely, and conscious, and that “se deben respetar los resultados que arrojen las urnas para darle legitimidad y fuerza a esta democracia que todos tenemos el deber de proteger”.
Penagos agreed, noting that business leaders expressed democratic doubts and electoral concerns that should not exist in a democratic nation. He stated that “nadie puede dudar que el año entrante habrá elecciones, un nuevo Congreso y un nuevo Presidente, porque así es el Estado colombiano y la Constitución se respeta”. He invited citizens to assist in oversight and participation, recalling that Colombia has strong institutions to guarantee democracy.
Both highlighted high abstention as a challenge. In the current Congress elections, 52% of eligible voters did not participate, meaning less than half of the electoral census decided the legislators. In the 2022 presidential election, abstention was 45% in the first round and 41% in the second. Penagos compared this to neighboring countries like Mexico, Argentina, Peru, and Chile, where participation is higher, and emphasized that “entre más personas voten, más legítimos son los gobernantes”.
Finally, Penagos called to reduce electoral violence: “Pongámonos en la tarea de que entre todos, hagamos que este proceso electoral sea limpio, transparente, pero ante todo, que no deje tragedias, porque las tragedias son difíciles de superar”. He insisted that political debate, though hostile, must not generate death.