The National Electoral Council (CNE) issued Plenary Chamber Resolution No. 2659 of 2026, through which it extended the registration period for electoral witnesses for the presidential elections to be held on May 31. As reported by the entity, the new deadline for the application was established for Thursday, May 28 at 5:00 p.m.
This decision responds to the need to provide political groups and electoral observation organizations with additional margin to complete the registration process of their representatives.
According to the official statement from the CNE, Registration is carried out exclusively through the Single Platform for Nomination and Accreditation of Electoral Actorsa digital tool created to streamline the procedure and improve the traceability of records. Access to the platform is available at actorselectoralespresidencia.cne.gov.co.
Until now, 223,929 electoral actors, including witnesses, system auditors and national and international observers, have been nominated and accredited by parties and organizations. These actors will perform surveillance functions before, during and after the democratic day, with the aim of supporting the legitimacy of the electoral process.
The CNE recalled that each political group can register one electoral witness for each of the 118,346 tables enabled in the national territory..
The National Electoral Council announced the start of in-person training aimed at electoral witnesses who will participate in the elections. The entity invited the candidates to reserve space in their agendas to attend these sessions, focused on strengthening knowledge about the roles and responsibilities of witnesses during the election.
The trainings were scheduled for May 29 and 30 in different municipalities of Cundinamarca, including Chía, Mosquera, Tocancipá, Gachancipá, Funza, Cogua and Zipaquira. The electoral authority published the detailed schedule and the designated places for each day, with the purpose of guaranteeing coverage and access to training.
Electoral witnesses are citizens designated by parties, political movements or significant groups of citizens that registered candidates for the presidential race. In accordance with Law 1475 of 2011 and the Colombian Electoral Code, its function is to observe the development of the vote and the scrutiny, present complaints and request the intervention of the authorities when situations that warrant it are detected.
Each party or movement can designate one witness per voting station.. If they do not have enough numbers, they can appoint authorized coordinators to cover several tables within the same voting station. The accreditation process is formalized with two types of credentials issued by the Registry: form E-15 to act before the voting juries and E-16 to act before the scrutiny commissions.
Election witnesses must report to their assigned positions at 7:00 am and perform precise tasks in each phase of the process. Before opening the polls, they verify that the jurors are duly accredited, supervise that the packets of electoral cards remain closed and observe that the minutes and documents have not been previously filled out.
During the day, their work includes observing that citizens vote in secretconfirm that only valid ID cards are used and ensure that there is no undue interference from people or authorities. At the closing of the polls, witnesses must verify that no citizen votes after 4:00 pm, monitor the destruction of unused cards and witness the counting of votes.
Current regulations authorize them to make written complaints in the event of irregularities, which are attached to the electoral documents and are resolved during the scrutiny. Requests to recount ballots must be acted upon immediately by jurors.
The CNE implemented the Single Platform for Nomination and Accreditation of Electoral Actors with the objective of providing greater agility and transparency to the registration of witnesses, auditors and observers, including the participation of national and international missions that will accompany the process.
According to figures released by the organization, the high number of electoral actors nominated until May 23 reflects the interest of parties and organizations in ensuring effective surveillance. The CNE reiterated that the transparency and legitimacy of the elections depend largely on the work of these observers.
