The shadow of fraud and violence looms large over the upcoming votes in the country. This Wednesday, February 4, the Electoral Observation Mission (MOE) set off all the alarms by presenting its Consolidated Electoral Risk Map for 2026, revealing that 170 municipalities present a dangerous coincidence of factors that threaten the transparency of the process.

The most worrying thing is that the maximum danger level skyrocketed: the municipalities at extreme risk went from 49 in 2022 to 81 for this year, which represents an alarming increase of 65.3%.

According to Alejandra Barrios, director of the MOE, the current scenario is much more complex and fragmented than that of four years ago.

The technical report, prepared by 37 researchers, identifies six critical areas where the State must focus all its attention: Arauca, the Northeast of Antioquia next to the south of Bolívar, the Pacific platform, the north of Cauca, the southeast of the country (Meta, Caquetá and Guaviare) and Putumayo.

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Cauca is emerging as the epicenter of the crisis, with 19 municipalities at extreme risk, of which 14 were not even on red alert in the last elections.

The electoral risk in these territories is not only linked to weapons, but also to “statistical atypicalities” that suggest possible cheating at the polls, especially in departments such as Córdoba and Antioquia for the Chamber and Senate votes.

Excluding Bogotá, these 170 municipalities under scrutiny group more than 4.5 million voters, that is, 11% of the national electoral census.

Diego Rubiano, coordinator of the MOE, warned that the current violence is associated with the control of illegal economies that seek to directly interfere in political competition.

With the electoral risk skyrocketing, the organization made an urgent call to the Government and the Public Force to guarantee that in these populations the vote is not a death sentence or a transaction under threat, protecting the integrity of a process that today seems to walk a tightrope.

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