C++26 draft fails its international ballot

C++ committee participant Mateusz Pusz reports that the C++26 draft failed both approval thresholds in its international ballot. The result leaves features such as reflection, library hardening and contracts in an unapproved draft. He expects contracts to dominate the objections, but the national comments and the next procedural decision are not yet public; no revised publication date is established.

Mateusz Pusz · Train IT · Oct 25, 2026

Why it matters

C++ teams can experiment with draft features while treating their final design and delivery schedule as unsettled.

More context

Pusz reports 12 affirmative votes among 20 voting participating members, below the required two-thirds. His account separates that calculation from the wider negative-vote threshold. He is a Polish national-body member and explicitly favors retaining contracts.

Keep in mind

The official ballot report and national comments were not publicly available in the source reviewed. Contracts being the cause of every negative vote is the author’s expectation, not an established result.

Original read