Colombians will vote for a new president on May 31, 2026, with a runoff scheduled for June 21 if no candidate secures more than 50 percent of the vote. These elections take place at a critical juncture for the country’s security strategy, institutional trajectory, and democratic resilience. While concerns about violence and public security remain central to voter decision-making, the electoral debate also encompasses broader, equally critical issues, including economic development, poverty reduction, institutional strength, victims' rights, and the stability and effectiveness of the presidency.

Democracy at the Ballot Box: The 2026 Electoral Cycle in Latin America is a new series, hosted by The Democracy Action Lab (DAL) at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) and DAL's Academic Consortium. This panel will examine the stakes of the 2026 election and the alternatives before voters. It will analyze the main dynamics shaping the electoral cycle, including the leading candidates, the coalitions and groups competing for power, and the broader political context in which the contest is unfolding. The discussion will also assess the likely implications of competing policy agendas, evaluate the principal risks facing the electoral process, identify the sources of democratic resilience that may help sustain it, and draw lessons for other Latin American countries confronting similar challenges.

SPEAKERS

• María Ignacia Curiel - Research Scholar & Research Manager, Democracy Action Lab (DAL)
• Oliver Kaplan - CDDRL Visiting Scholar & Associate Professor, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver
• Javier Mejía - Lecturer, Stanford University's Department of Political Science, Stanford Civics Initiative, and Affiliated Faculty of Stanford's Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS)  & Stanford's Center for Poverty and Inequality
• Michael Weintraub - Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and Global Studies at Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia),  Director of the Center for the Study of Security and Drugs (CESED) in the Department of Economics, Member of The Democracy Action Lab's Academic Consortium

MODERATOR

Alberto Díaz-Cayeros — Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Professor, by courtesy, of Political Science, and Co-Director of DAL