Comptroller's Office reprimands the mayor of Matina for fiscal control failures

The Comptroller General of the Republic sanctioned Wálter Céspedes Salazar, mayor of the Municipality of Matina, with a written reprimand for violations of the control and oversight regulations of the Public Treasury. The sanction is contained in resolution No. 10125-2026 (DJ-1426), issued at 2:50 p.m. on August 5, 2026, and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal ordered the publication of the edict in La Gaceta No. 187 on Monday, October 5, 2026.

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) processed the matter as execution proceedings for an administrative sanction imposed by the Comptroller General of the Republic against the mayor of Matina. In its resolution, dated in San José on August 28, 2026, the Tribunal ordered the General Secretariat of that body to prepare an edict to be published a single time in La Gaceta.

The edict reproduces the text of the sanctioning resolution: “The Supreme Electoral Tribunal makes it known that, in resolution No. 10125-2026 (DJ-1426) at 2:50 p.m. on August 5, 2026, the Comptroller General of the Republic ordered the sanctioning of Mr. Wálter Céspedes Salazar, mayor of the Municipality of Matina, with a written reprimand, having found it proven that he committed violations against the control and oversight regulations of the Public Treasury.”

The Comptroller’s Sanction

The Comptroller General of the Republic is the body responsible for auditing the Public Treasury and controlling the use of public funds. Resolution No. 10125-2026 (DJ-1426) found the mayor’s violations of the control and oversight regulations to be proven, and therefore imposed a written reprimand.

The document does not record the amount of a fine or other accessory sanctions: the sanction imposed is exclusively the written reprimand. The resolution was issued at 2:50 p.m. on August 5, 2026.

The Edict of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal

The edict is signed by magistrates MaxAlberto Esquivel Faerron, Zetty María Bou Valverde, and Mary Anne Mannix Arnold, and bears the official reference IN202601129332. The publication is carried out a single time, as ordered by the Tribunal itself.

The TSE acts in this case as the body responsible for executing the administrative sanction imposed by the Comptroller and orders the publication of the edict to provide public notice of the resolution.

Official Case Data

• Sanctioning body: Comptroller General of the Republic.
• Sanctioned person: Wálter Céspedes Salazar, mayor of the Municipality of Matina.
• Sanction: written reprimand.
• Resolution: No. 10125-2026 (DJ-1426), at 14:50 hours on August 5, 2026.
• Reason: offenses against the control and oversight regulations of the Public Treasury.
• Publication: La Gaceta No. 187, Monday, October 5, 2026.
• Official reference: IN202601129332.

The publication of the edict closes the sanction execution process and provides public record that an acting mayor was reprimanded by the Comptroller’s Office for failing to comply with the control and oversight regulations of the Public Treasury. The case illustrates the scope of oversight over municipalities and the role of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal in the execution of administrative sanctions.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 187 of October 5, 2026, Supreme Electoral Tribunal section, p. 184 (official reference: IN202601129332).