INE sets radio and television airtime for the 2026-2027 electoral process

The General Council of the National Electoral Institute (INE) approved the criteria regarding the allocation of radio and television time to federal and local electoral authorities for the pre-campaign, inter-campaign, campaign, reflection period, and election day stages of the 2026-2027 Concurrent Federal and Local Electoral Process. The agreement, identified as INE/CG486/2026, was adopted by unanimous vote in an extraordinary session held on August 18, 2026, and was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on September 2, 2026.

The instrument regulates the State time that the INE administers in each radio station and television channel with coverage in the entities where elections are held, from the start of the pre-campaigns until the day of the election. The decision is based on Article 41, Base III, of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, as well as the General Law of Electoral Institutions and Procedures (LGIPE) and the Radio and Television Regulations in Electoral Matters (RRTME).

Distribution of time by stage

In accordance with the regulations, the INE will administer forty-eight daily minutes in each radio station and television channel during the process. The time is distributed as follows:

• Pre-campaign: 18 daily minutes, equivalent to 36 promotional spots.
• Inter-campaign: 24 daily minutes, equivalent to 48 promotional spots.
• Campaign: 7 daily minutes, equivalent to 14 promotional spots.
• Reflection period and election day: 48 daily minutes, equivalent to 96 promotional spots.

Messages are broadcast in thirty-second pieces; therefore, any remaining fractions that cannot be optimized will be assigned to the INE itself.

Allocation criteria between authorities

The agreement establishes that, during all stages, seventy percent of the available radio and television time will be allocated to the INE for its own purposes and those of other federal electoral authorities. The remaining thirty percent will be divided equally among the local electoral authorities that submit their time requests in a timely manner.

Additionally, the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary (TEPJF) and the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Electoral Crimes (FISEL) will be sought to be individually assigned ten percent of the time corresponding to the INE in each stage.

Deadlines and requests

Electoral authorities must submit their time requests to the Executive Directorate of Prerogatives and Political Parties (DEPPP) thirty days in advance of the start of the relevant stage of the electoral process. Time not used or not requested within the provided timeframe will remain at the disposal of the INE.

According to the agreement itself, eighty-three local electoral authorities have already submitted their request for radio and television time. The Local Public Bodies of the thirty-two federal entities that will hold elections coinciding with the federal ones must timely notify the INE of the start of said processes.

The agreement was signed by the Councilor President, Guadalupe Taddei Zavala, and councilors Arturo Castillo Loza, Arturo Manuel Chávez López, Blanca Yassahara Cruz García, Norma Irene De La Cruz Magaña, Uuc-kib Espadas Ancona, José Martín Fernando Faz Mora, Frida Denisse Gómez Puga, Carla Astrid Humphrey Jordan, Rita Bell López Vences, and Jorge Montaño Ventura, with the secretariat of Claudia Arlett Espino.

The publication of this criterion is decisive for political parties, candidacies, and media outlets, as it precisely defines the available dissemination spaces at each stage of the electoral process. Its immediate entry into force allows federal and local electoral authorities to plan their communication strategies with legal certainty, in a process that will be held concurrently throughout the country.

Source: Official Gazette of the Federation, September 2, 2026, Autonomous Bodies section, page 196 (official reference: INE/CG486/2026).