Overview
- Congress approved the reform in late May that mandates a Commission of Verification and Integrity of Candidacies be integrated and operating by the first week of September to coincide with the 2027 electoral cycle.
- The commission will be staffed by three INE counselors and will coordinate confidential checks with prosecutors, the financial intelligence unit, the national intelligence agency and banking regulators to assess a “reasonable risk” of criminal or corrupt links.
- INE officials say the body may need to review an estimated 25,000 to 35,000 candidacies, a workload that they warn will require large increases in staff, legal analysts, auditors and regional teams.
- The reform assigns all costs to the INE’s existing budget and makes party submission to the commission voluntary, raising political friction and the risk that limited funds will force tradeoffs in oversight and technology.
- INE leaders say they urgently need upgraded IT, real‑time fiscalization, automated cross‑checks and digital advertising monitoring to detect hidden donors, paid content and AI‑driven manipulation and to protect due process through information reserves.