The Superior Court of Electoral Justice of Paraguay (TSJE) has opened the period for citizens and political parties to challenge candidacies for the municipal elections, with the cases to be reviewed by the electoral courts between July 13 and 15.
Justicia Electoral
Pytagua coverage mentioning Justicia Electoral.
Mayors of Paraguayan municipalities resign to run for reelection, following a ruling by the Superior Tribunal of Electoral Justice (TSJE) for the October municipal elections.
Soledad Núñez, candidate for mayor of Asunción representing the Unidos por Asunción alliance, met with TSJE authorities to denounce "vote stuffing" and demand stricter oversight in the municipal elections on October 4, including manual vote counting for single-member positions and limiting the number of voters per polling station.
The Honor Colorado movement, led by former President Horacio Cartes, won in 239 of the 263 districts in the Colorado Party's internal elections, consolidating its hegemony and securing representation in the vast majority of municipalities for the October 4 elections, with a voter turnout of 48.3%.
Camilo Pérez, of the Honor Colorado movement, won by a wide margin the ANR internal elections held on Sunday, June 7, obtaining 78,137 votes against 41,770 for Arnaldo Samaniego, and will be the Colorado Party's candidate for the Asunción mayoralty in the October municipal elections.
Ahead of Paraguay's municipal primary elections, reports have emerged about the alleged mass purchase of pens containing hidden cameras that could be used to record votes inside the voting booth, a practice prohibited under Paraguayan law.
The election campaign for the October municipal elections in Paraguay caused the Chamber of Deputies to fail to reach a quorum for a session this week, leaving nearly twenty bills stalled, including the creation of the National Care System, changes to the universal pension for the elderly, judicial reforms, land regularization, and a proposal for the automatic termination of child support at age 18.
Agricultural producer Almir de Brum, 32, was released this Thursday, April 4, after more than three months in captivity by the armed group EPP in Canindeyú, without any ransom payment, and is now at his home under the protection of state security forces.
During Basilio Bachi Núñez's tenure at the National Congress, two officials — Catherine Larissa Benítez Pascottini, a prospective city council candidate in Ñemby for the Honor Colorado movement, and Adilson Sosa, the son of a Villa Hayes city councilor — were hired and promoted with significant salary increases within just a few months, prompting allegations of influence peddling and waste of public resources.
On June 7, 4.3 million voters affiliated with 32 parties, 22 movements, and 214 alliances will go to the polls in Paraguay to choose the candidates who will run in the municipal elections on October 4, when 263 mayoral positions and 2,832 councilor seats will be decided for the 2026-2031 term.
The Electoral Court began distributing 16,582 electronic ballot boxes and election kits on Sunday, May 31, for the June 7 simultaneous primary elections, with shipments by land, river, and air to various departments of Paraguay, coordinated by the National Police, Military Forces, and Public Prosecutor's Office.
The Superior Electoral Court will mobilize over 82,000 people and 16,582 voting machines for the June 7 internal party elections, in which 4,338,716 voters will choose candidates for mayor and city council across the country.
Former Paraguayan senator Erico Galeano, sentenced to 13 years in prison for money laundering and criminal association in the “A Ultranza” case, was transferred on Wednesday morning to the National Prevention Center, located in the former Tacumbú prison in the Santa Ana district of Asunción.
Colorado Senator Luis Alberto Pettengill accused TSJE Electoral Processes Director Carlos María Ljubetic of lying when he claimed that the voting machines used in the party's internal elections were audited with full access. Pettengill demands an independent software audit and criticizes the "simulation of transparency." The allegations are from Pettengill and have not been independently verified.
The attorney for the Colorado Añetete movement, Cecilia Pérez, stated that the supposed audit of the voting machines was actually just a technical presentation, and that the Cartismo faction itself acknowledges flaws by supporting new audits.
The Superior Electoral Court (TSJE) of Paraguay reaffirmed that internal party elections will take place on June 7, according to the original calendar. Despite requests for review, the court is willing to hold up to two days of technical clarifications on the voting machines, which already underwent an audit in February with participation from parties and international observers.
Deputies from the Colorado Party, both from the dissident faction and the government base, reject the suspension of the internal elections scheduled for June 7. While they support a new audit of the voting machines, provided it is conducted by the Electoral Justice, they criticize calls for postponement and accuse the opposition of trying to disrupt the process.
Amid questions about the electronic voting system, the Superior Electoral Justice Court (TSJE) detailed the security mechanisms of RFID chips in ballots, including encryption and validation, to prevent fraud in the June 7 internal party elections.
The Tripartite Command, a security alliance among Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina, marked 30 years with a ceremony in Ciudad del Este. The temporary presidency was handed over to Argentina. Deputy Commissioner Fabio Santa Cruz highlighted modernization and effectiveness in combating transnational crime.
Senator Derlis Maidana (Colorado Party) came to the defense of the Superior Court of Electoral Justice (TSJE) amid questions about the reliability of voting machines. He classified allegations of fraud in past elections as "absolutely unfounded" but supported the carrying out of audits on the system.
Deputy José Rodríguez (ANR, HC) stated he fully trusts the Superior Electoral Justice Tribunal (TSJE) and denied that dissident Colorados were prevented from auditing the voting machines, despite the Colorado Party's own Electoral Party Tribunal (TEP) having acknowledged the issue and requested measures to resolve the doubts.
Congress President Basilio Núñez responded to Senator Lilian Samaniego's criticism regarding the audit of electronic voting machines, stating that the process was carried out according to schedule and that the opposition had the opportunity to participate. Núñez also recalled that Samaniego, when she chaired the ANR, appointed people she trusted, and defended confidence in the TSJE.
The president of the Superior Electoral Justice Tribunal (TSJE), Jorge Bogarín, stated that criticism of the voting machines aims to discredit the Paraguayan electoral system, weeks before the simultaneous internal party elections on June 7. Bogarín defended the transparency of the mechanism, implemented since 2021, and attributed the questions to an intention to weaken the model established by Law 6318/2019. Colorado senator Lilian Samaniego reiterated the request for an audit of the machines to the ANR.
Senator Derlis Maidana (Honor Colorado) called on the political class to support institutions and downplayed the delay in the technical audit of voting machines, while dissident Senator Lilian Samaniego (Causa Republicana) denounced failures in the schedule and lack of transparency.