The Quyquyhó Municipal Council held an extraordinary session at the home of its president, who is under house arrest, to consider the mayor's resignation. She is also under the same precautionary measure and is being investigated alongside him for the alleged embezzlement of public funds.
Lilian Samaniego
Pytagua coverage mentioning Lilian Samaniego.
The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Raúl Latorre, stated that the request to lift the parliamentary immunity of Cartista deputy Esteban Samaniego depends on a deal involving three other lawmakers with pending cases, since removal requires a two-thirds majority and no single political force can reach that number on its own.
The request to lift the immunity of Deputy Cleto Giménez, accused in the "nepobabies" case for irregularly hiring his daughters as aides, has remained unexamined in the Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay for over two years.
The Paraguayan Senate is reviewing on Wednesday, the 16th, a bill authored by Senator Lilian Samaniego that proposes the so-called "express divorce," allowing couples with mutual agreement to divorce directly before a judge, without the need for lawyers or payment of court fees and legal costs.
The Court of Appeal on Monday, the 15th, rejected the challenge filed by the accused Damián de Jesús Galarza Dárdano in the case against the mayor of Quyquyhó, Patricia Corvalán, and 13 others charged with embezzlement, money laundering, and criminal association. The court confirmed Judge Humberto Otazú as the presiding judge and urged him to impose disciplinary sanctions on defendants who use delaying tactics to stall the proceedings.
The Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay has nine requests for the removal of parliamentary immunity pending, but President Raúl Latorre says there is no scheduled vote yet due to the need for unanimous agreement among the deputies involved.
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.
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.
PLRA pre-candidate Arnaldo Samaniego advocated for more efficient municipal management in Asunción, prioritizing trash collection, street repairs, and urban planning. He stated he will not improvise and relies on qualified professionals.
Senator Lilian Samaniego, from the Causa Republicana movement, publicly asked the president of the Colorado Party, Horacio Cartes, and the president of the Party Electoral Tribunal, Santiago Brizuela, to carry out the audit of the voting machines before the internal elections on June 7, arguing that the procedure, scheduled for February, was not fulfilled and is essential to guarantee transparency and equal opportunities.
Judge Humberto Otazú, presiding over the Specialized Economic Crimes Penal Guarantees Court of Asunción, scheduled a preliminary hearing for June 3, 4, and 5 for Colorado Party deputy Esteban Samaniego, his wife and current mayor of Quyquyhó, Patricia Corvalán, his mother Blanca Álvarez, and 13 others, on allegations of illicit enrichment that allegedly caused losses of G. 338.6 million to municipal coffers between 2011 and 2017.
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.
Gianina García Troche, partner of alleged drug trafficker Sebastián Marset, requested house arrest during a statement in the framework of Operation A Ultranza Paraguay, which investigates money laundering from drug trafficking. The request will be analyzed by Judge Rosarito Montanía.
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.
ANR proxy Eduardo González responded to Senator Lilian Samaniego that the audit of voting machines has already been carried out at the TSJE for all parties. Meanwhile, the National Congress, under the leadership of Basilio Núñez, begins an internal audit of university diplomas of employees, an initiative of Senator Eduardo Nakayama.
Deputy Luis “Tiki” González Vaesken, of the dissident Colorado movement Añeteté, defended the need to strengthen oversight systems at polling stations for the upcoming elections, amid doubts about the reliability of voting machines supplied by the Comitia-MSA Consortium, which had previously been disqualified in an earlier tender.
The Honor Colorado movement, led by pre-candidate for mayor of Asunción, Camilo Pérez, rejected the request for an audit of voting machines made by Senator Lilian Samaniego and her brother Arnaldo, classifying the demand as an attempt to destabilize the electoral process three weeks before the Colorado internal elections.
Three pre-candidates for councilor in the Paraguayan capital denounced the existence of parallel cash collection systems in Markets 4 and Abasto, as well as at the Asunción Bus Station, with daily collections allegedly reaching 100 million guaranis. They claim the scheme has been operating for over eight years and involves municipal employees and outsiders.
Colorado senator Derlis Maidana calls on the political class to support the Electoral Justice and not to sow distrust in the voting machines for party primaries.
The chief of staff of the ANR, Eduardo González, stated that Senator Lilian Samaniego requested the postponement of the Colorado Party's internal elections, but she denies the accusation and demands an audit of the voting machines. The TEP guarantees that the audit will be carried out without altering the calendar.
Gianina García Troche, partner of Sebastián Marset, asked prosecutor Deny Yoon Pak for the benefit of house arrest, citing the need to be close to her children. The request was made during her indictment hearing on May 12, and the prosecutor said he will consult Judge Rosarito Montanía.