In Paraguay, Santiago Peña wins the presidency, the conservative Colorado party remains in power

Paraguay’s Transmission of Preliminary Electoral Results (TREP) page informed that, with more than 80 percent of the tables counted, the candidate of the Colorado Party, Santiago Peña, 44, would be the elected president of the country, despite heavy Western funding of the liberal candidate.

Up to 7:45 pm (local time) and with 11,308 tables processed (92.24 percent) of the 12,259 installed, the electoral race for the Presidency of the country is led by Peña, with 43.07 percent, followed by the candidate of the National Concertation for a New Paraguay party, Efraín Alegre, with 27.49 percent.

In third place is the representative of the National Crusade Party, Payo Cubas, with 22.64 percent. The other presidential candidates present less than 2 percent so far.

The TREP web page reports that the participation, so far, reaches 63.06 percent.

For his part, the president of the country, Mario Abdo Benítez, congratulated the Paraguayan people for their participation and the elected president Santiago Peña.

The Superior Tribunal of Electoral Justice (TSJE) indicated the polling stations were closed at 4 pm (local time). However, citizens waiting inside the polling stations were allowed to exercise their voting.

Before the closing, the commander of the Paraguayan Police, Commissioner General Gilberto Fleitas, assured in a press conference that the national elections were usually taking place, highlighting the tranquility in the polling places where the voting day was taking place.

While presenting a report on the course of the electoral process together with the electoral authorities, Fleitas said, “I came to meet with the ministers, and we presented some indications of these elections. We have no major incidents so far”.

Commander Gilberto Fleitas denied the version that armed men entered a polling place in Yby Pytã. He said that 27,000 police officers are available to guard the voting day.

Massive affluence from the early morning hours and crossing of accusations between the ruling party and the opposition characterizes the beginning of the voting day of the general elections in Paraguay.

The polls for more than 4.7 million Paraguayans to define the country’s political course by supporting the proposal for change represented by Concertación Nacional or the continuity in power of the Colorado Party opened at 7 am (11 am GMT) this Sunday.

The outgoing president, Mario Abdo Benítez, was among the first to pronounce himself this electoral morning when he said, “Today is an important day for Paraguayan democracy; the people have to speak out”.

He also said he hoped that “it will be a calm, peaceful day, that Paraguay will show before the world (what it is)” and that “the great winner in this electoral contest will be the Paraguayan nation”.

However, the day also began with incidents at some voting tables regarding where the voting booth or dark room should be located in Paraguay.

Table members of a school in Asunción denounced representatives of the Concertación for moving the darkroom from its original place and pretending to place observers behind the voting machines.

Paraguarí incidents were more severe and escalated to blows, and even one person was reported injured.

The scuffle also occurred because the red party operators pretended that the ballot boxes were inside the classrooms.

Besides the presidential formulas, Paraguayans will select for the next five years 45 senators, 80 deputies, 17 governors, and local authorities.

Less than 24 hours before the start of the electoral process, the Superior Tribunal of Electoral Justice (TSJE) tested the 15,380 electronic voting machines installed in the 1,157 electoral centers set up in the 17 departments of the country.

“Paraguay is ready, and I want to say with great pride that the Paraguayan people are ripe to go and elect”, declared the president of the TSJE, Jorge Bogarín.

At least 41,000 Paraguayans living abroad were called to vote for a new president, vice president, members of Congress, and other local authorities.

According to the electoral authorities, the first results are expected to be known a few hours after the end of the election day.

Paraguay has no second round, so the candidate with the most votes wins. According to the schedule, the elected president will take office on August 15, 2023, and leave office in August 2028 without the possibility of reelection.

The electoral process of this April 30 would be the eighth since the coup d’état that ended the dictatorship of more than 35 years of Alfredo Stroessner in February 1989.