Colombian President Gustavo Petro denounced “serious indications” of possible fraud in the upcoming legislative elections scheduled for March 8, and questioned the management of election software and data by private operators.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro publicly denounced on February, 24 the existence of “serious indications” of possible electoral fraud in the lead-up to the legislative elections scheduled for March 8, 2026.

In his address, the president questioned why the software and the administration of the vote counting data remain in the hands of private operators, raising concerns about the transparency of the democratic process.

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Petro emphasized that the electoral system must be under the direct control of the Colombian State, particularly in the digital processing of results, explaining that measure is necessary to guarantee transparency, technological sovereignty, and democratic legitimacy in future elections.

The Head of State directly pointed to Thomas Gregg & Sons, a company historically linked to electoral logistics Colombia. While asserting that he should not have access to the vote-counting software support, given the vested interests surrounding the firm that warrant a structural review of the electoral contracting model.

Text reads: “The pre-counting software of the company ASD, a subsidiary of Thomas Greg and Sons, is verified by an external audit carried out by experts from international and national maternity hospitals. The company ADS is involved in fraud discovered by the Council of State in a judgment handed down in full court in the 2014 senate elections, then in the 2022 presidential and congressional elections in Colombia and was denounced in the latest elections in Honduras. If nothing happens, it will once again be the company that will do the pre-counting of the congressional and presidential elections for the year 2026….”

Pre-existing Irregularities

The Colombian President recalled that between 2014 and 2018, irregularities allegedly occurred in the legislative vote counts, resulting in the improper allocation of votes. He indicated that a subsequent court ruling acknowledged these anomalies, but it was issued after the legislative period had already concluded, preventing the reversal of its political effects.

He also stated that in the 2022 elections, the Historical Pact suffered the loss of approximately 400,000 votes, which, he maintained, were recovered thanks to election observers.

President Petro announced that he will submit the evidence presented in his remarks to the relevant authorities and even international bodies. The goal is for the background of the events to be investigated and for structural corrective measures to be implemented.

The Ombudsman’s Office had identified 69 municipalities with a critical level of risk for the holding of elections, a figure that has increased compared to previous assessments. Furthermore, the number of territories requiring urgent or priority intervention has also increased.

In recent weeks, murders and kidnappings have been reported in Cauca. The debate that is opening up in the lead-up to 2026 not only revolves around territorial security, but also around sovereignty over the electoral technological infrastructure.

For the Executive branch, state control of the software is an indispensable condition for strengthening public trust.

Text reads: “60,000 electoral witnesses are needed for 123,000 polling stations per political party and must be well trained to challenge tables…”

Request for Observers

Gustavo Petro publicly reiterated the urgent need for access to the source code of the vote-counting software and stated that, after days of requesting it, “there are only evasive answers,” according to his posts on social media.

“As President of Colombia, I demand that the complete source code of the vote-counting software from Thomas Greg & Sons, a Colombian company, not a foreign one, be made available for public scrutiny”, Petro insisted.

Furthermore, he warned that leaving blank ballot boxes opens the possibility of manipulation and could benefit special interests. He emphasized the dangers of granting the management of electoral data to a single company and recalled past attempts to influence the results in favor of certain candidates.

He also called on election observers to remain vigilant and well-trained. He indicated that detecting and documenting any irregularities at polling stations is essential for the transparency of the process.

Colombia faces the challenge of ensuring that the legislative elections are conducted with full transparency and security conditions that allow for the free exercise of the vote throughout the country.

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