Organizing an election with 316 officially and legally established political parties could make things complicated for both the Electoral Council and the voters.
Organizing an election with 316 officially and legally established political parties could complicate things for both the Electoral Council and the voters. The CEP is therefore inviting party leaders to come together, and the electoral decree offers them a series of financial incentives to do so.
After publishing the list of 316 approved political parties on Thursday, the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) informs them that it will proceed, from Monday, July 13 to Friday, July 17, 2026, with the registration of party groupings, and from Wednesday, July 22 to Monday, July 27, 2026, with the registration of political party alliances, in accordance with the provisions of Article 128 of the electoral decree of June 2, 2026.The CEP points out in a statement that at the time of registration, the delegated person, duly authorized from each alliance or coalition of political parties, is invited to appear at the CEP’s central office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., carrying the following documents: the original notarized founding act of the approved alliance or coalition of political parties, its statutes and objectives; the original notarized document stating the agreement on the use of a single emblem for the alliance or coalition of political parties.
Next, it must also present the acronym, the emblem, and the colors adopted for identifying the group or coalition of political parties; the original notarized minutes appointing a legal representative for the group or coalition of political parties; and a color copy of the valid NINU card of the representative of the group or coalition of political parties. “No incomplete file will be accepted,” warns the CEP.
Since most of the 316 accredited political parties are unknown to the general public, it will be difficult for them to each gather the 30,000 members needed to submit their candidates for elective positions, as required by Article 130 of the electoral decree.
The electoral decree also provides incentives for political parties wishing to join forces.
Article 136 of the document states that ‘any coalition of political parties that is formed and approved benefits from a reduction in registration fees for all its candidates according to the following criteria: 1. a coalition made up of at least 50 approved political parties benefits from a 100% reduction in registration fees; 2. a coalition made up of 30 to 49 approved political parties benefits from a 75% reduction in registration fees; 3. a coalition made up of 20 to 29 approved political parties benefits from a 50% reduction in registration fees; 4. a coalition made up of 10 to 19 approved political parties benefits from a 5% reduction in registration fees.’
Then, according to Article 137, ‘any grouping of political parties that is formed and approved gets a reduction in registration fees for all its candidates based on the following criteria: 1. a grouping made up of at least 5 approved political party groups gets a 100% reduction in registration fees; 2. a grouping made up of 3 to 4 approved political party groups gets a 75% reduction in registration fees; 3. a grouping made up of 2 approved political party groups gets a 50% reduction in registration fees.’What about registration fees?
According to Article 156 of the electoral decree, any candidate for an elective position pays the non-refundable registration fees to the DGI, using a manager’s check made out to the Public Treasury/Elections.
The registration fees for the various elective positions are set out in Article 157 of the electoral decree: “1. for the presidential candidate: two million (2,000,000.00) gourdes; 2. for the Senate candidate: eight hundred thousand (800,000.00) gourdes; 3. for the Deputy candidate: three hundred thousand (300,000.00) gourdes; 4. for the municipal council candidate slate: one hundred thousand (100,000) gourdes; 5. for the CASEC candidate slate: twenty-five thousand (25,000.00) gourdes; 6. for the ASEC candidate slate: twenty-five thousand (25,000.00) gourdes.”
