On Thursday, September 3, 2026, the Chiapas Congress approved an electoral reform requiring public officials to submit a leave of absence and vacate their posts 90 days before election day if they seek to run in 2027. The June 6, 2027 election will renew the local Legislature and all 124 municipalities.
The full 69th Legislature endorsed the changes during the fourth extraordinary session period, amending Section VI of Article 40 of the Chiapas Political Constitution and the state's Law on Electoral Institutions and Procedures. According to El Universal, the reform aligns the state constitution with the federal charter and aims to ensure competitive fairness. The 90-day window, legislators explained, keeps officials focused on their duties for most of the process while ensuring the population continues to be served by a functioning administration. With local 2027 processes being defined across the country, the early timing with which Chiapas sets its leave-of-absence rule stands as a reference point for other state legislatures.
Abundio Peregrino García, chair of the Governance and Constitutional Matters Committee, and Representative Getsemaní Moreno Martínez explained that the timeframe seeks a balance between political participation and continuity of public functions, and that the reform streamlines candidacy requirements, according to coverage by Chiapas en Contacto. The provision applies to local congressional seats and municipal council positions on the ballot. For election day, the National Electoral Institute (INE) estimates installing around 7,000 polling stations in a state that concentrates the largest number of special polling stations in the country, with a voter registry of 4 million 156 thousand enrolled and a nominal voter roll of 4 million 106 thousand voters, according to El Universal.
The next milestone will be the official calendar for the local process, which will set the dates for pre-campaigns and campaigns and, with them, the exact point at which office-holding candidates must submit their leave of absence, no later than 90 days before June 6, 2027.
This article was drafted with artificial intelligence assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.