Paraguay Opposition Leads Asunción at 99.92% Counted
RESULTS · PARAGUAY MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS 2026
The opposition has taken the lead in Asunción, the capital of Paraguay. With 99.92% of polling tables counted, Soledad Núñez has 47.78% of the vote and Colorado candidate Camilo Pérez 45.98%, a gap of 5,024 votes. The count is preliminary: the electoral court has not yet proclaimed a winner, and Pérez has not conceded.
Nationwide, the ruling Colorado Party (ANR) still won most of the 263 mayoralties in Sunday’s municipal vote, 187 by La Nación’s tally of the preliminary count. Losing the capital and Ciudad del Este is the story. Reuters calls the vote a midterm test for Peña’s government ahead of 2028.
For US readers: Paraguay is the only South American country that recognises Taiwan. A weaker ruling party in the capital changes no policy now, but it feeds the debate over the 2028 presidential race.
Key Facts
- —Asunción Núñez (opposition alliance) 133,325 votes, 47.78%. Pérez (Colorado) 128,301 votes, 45.98%. Gap: 5,024 votes. Counted: 1,324 of 1,325 tables (99.92%) at the last TREP update on Sunday night. Turnout 61.75%.
- —Status Preliminary. The TREP count is unofficial and non-binding. Pérez says he will wait for the official review of the tally sheets before taking a position.
- —Nationwide Colorados 187 of 263 mayoralties by La Nación’s tally of the preliminary count, a historic record for the party. President Peña put the figure at about 186. In 2021 the party won 162 to 163.
- —Other big cities Ciudad del Este: Dani Mujica (Yo Creo, opposition) 72.83%. San Lorenzo: Felipe Salomón (Colorado) 58.45%. Encarnación: Sebastián Remesowski (Colorado) 57.41% per the TREP.
- —Capitals The Colorados took 11 of the 17 departmental capitals. The other six went to opposition alliances, Liberals, Yo Creo or local forces.
- —Next Electoral tribunals do the official count and proclaim winners. The TSJE calendar puts proclamations between 5 and 23 October. New mayors take office on 3 November 2026.
- —Why Americans care Paraguay backs Taiwan and Washington’s line in the region. The result shows whether that camp is losing ground in cities before 2028.
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Asunción: the opposition leads on the preliminary count
Núñez is a civil engineer who served as housing minister under former president Horacio Cartes, a Colorado. In 2023 she was the opposition ticket’s vice-presidential candidate, alongside Efraín Alegre. This time she ran for an alliance of opposition parties and movements, Juntos por Asunción. She would be the second woman to run the capital.
Pérez, the Colorado candidate, is president of Paraguay’s Olympic Committee. On Sunday night he did not admit defeat. He said that, given the narrow numbers, his team would wait for the electoral courts to judge the tally sheets.
Other candidates took little: Rodrigo Franco of the Christian Democrats 2.88% (8,042 votes) and Arlene Aquino 0.62% (1,732 votes). Turnout was 61.75%.
The result beat the polls. Two September surveys, by Ati Snead and Grau & Asociados, had put Pérez ahead by 18 to 24 points. Outlets that published them lean towards the ruling party, so they were always a weak guide.
Núñez inherits a city hall in trouble. Mayor Óscar Rodríguez resigned in August 2025 during a state intervention that cited financial deterioration and misused bond funds. Luis Bello, also a Colorado, has run the city since then. Reuters says she inherits debt, missed interest payments and stalled public works.
Ciudad del Este, Encarnación, San Lorenzo
Ciudad del Este. Dani Mujica of Yo Creo (“I Believe”) won with 72.83%, or 95,888 votes. Rigoberto Chamorro, the Colorado, took 23.80% (31,337 votes). All tables are counted. Mujica had already won a by-election in November 2025 to finish the term of Mayor Miguel Prieto, who was removed from office; he resigned to run again. The city is a large trading hub on the Brazilian border.
Encarnación. Colorado deputy Sebastián “Cheba” Remesowski won back the capital of Itapúa department with 57.41% (29,858 votes) against Liberal deputy Carlos Pereira with 38.39% (19,963 votes), per the TREP count reported by ABC Color and La Nación.
San Lorenzo. Felipe “Felipito” Salomón of the Colorados was re-elected with 58.45% (52,919 votes). Luz Bella González, the united opposition’s candidate, had 36.47% (33,020 votes). All 493 tables are counted, and turnout was 53.21%. Unity among opposition parties did not carry this large city near Asunción.
Colorados vs. Opposition Nationwide
La Nación counts 187 mayoralties for the Colorados out of 263, 71% of districts. That tops the 162 or 163 of 2021, depending on the count, and the party’s earlier lows of 130 in 2010 and 145 in 2015. Peña projected about 186 on election night, and called it a great day with much to analyse.
The opposition holds the other 76 by La Nación’s count: 34 for the Liberals (PLRA) alone, 36 for local alliances, three for Yo Creo, two for independents and one for Encuentro Nacional. These tallies come from the preliminary count and may shift once tribunals finish.
The pattern is mixed. The opposition won the capital and Ciudad del Este, while the Colorados held San Lorenzo and took Encarnación. ABC Color links the Asunción result to voter anger at the previous city administration under Óscar Rodríguez.
Who Is Who
Soledad Núñez is the opposition candidate who leads in Asunción. She is a centrist civil engineer and former housing minister.
Camilo Pérez is the Colorado candidate in Asunción and president of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee. He has not conceded.
Santiago Peña is Paraguay’s conservative president and a Colorado. He has backed Taiwan and investment-friendly policies since 2023.
The Colorado Party (ANR) is a conservative party founded in 1887. It has governed Paraguay for most of its modern history.
The Liberal Party (PLRA) is the largest opposition party, centrist, refounded in 1978 by opponents of the Stroessner dictatorship.
Yo Creo is a local reform movement led by Miguel Prieto, the removed mayor of Ciudad del Este. Reuters calls the 37-year-old a possible 2028 presidential candidate.
Dani Mujica is the Yo Creo mayor-elect of Ciudad del Este and part of Prieto’s team.
The TSJE is the electoral court. It runs the TREP, a fast but unofficial count, and the tribunals that make the official count.
Why It Matters for the US
Paraguay is the only South American state with diplomatic ties to Taiwan, one of 12 governments worldwide that recognise it. Peña’s party is the pillar of that policy. Municipal votes do not change foreign policy. They do shape who looks strong in 2028, when Peña cannot run again.
The economy is in better shape than the politics. Paraguay’s central bank reported 4.0% growth in the second quarter. Municipal results rarely move Paraguayan assets.
What it means for you. Investors should expect national continuity and watch whether Colorado leaders react to the loss. Expats in Asunción will face a new city administration from 3 November, with permits and services in the hands of a team that is new to office. Travellers should see no change.
What Happens Next
Electoral tribunals will judge the tally sheets and proclaim winners. The TSJE calendar sets that work between Monday 5 October and Friday 23 October. A close race such as Asunción’s is where a formal challenge could come. The new mayors and councils are due to take office on Tuesday 3 November.
Watch three things: whether Pérez concedes or files a challenge; whether the final tally changes the national count of 187; and how the opposition’s two big-city wins shape the 2028 race.
What Is Not Known
We do not know the official result: the TSJE results portal blocks automated access, so these are preliminary figures as reported by the media. The Asunción gap is 5,024 votes with one of 1,325 tables still uncounted at the last update. Percentages in earlier night reports differed slightly from the later 47.78% and 45.98%. We also do not know council seat splits, or whether Pérez will challenge the count.
See our
election center and preview, how the 4 October vote works and election-day report. Latest: Paraguay news in English.
Who won the Asunción mayoral election?
Opposition candidate Soledad Núñez leads Colorado candidate Camilo Pérez 47.78% to 45.98%, or 133,325 votes to 128,301, with 99.92% of tables counted in the preliminary TREP. The count is not official, and Pérez has not conceded.
Did the Colorado Party lose Paraguay’s municipal elections?
No. By La Nación’s count of the preliminary results, the Colorados won 187 of 263 mayoralties, a historic high for the party. They lost Asunción and Ciudad del Este.
When do the new mayors take office?
Electoral tribunals do the official count and proclamation, which the TSJE calendar sets between 5 and 23 October. The new mayors and councils take office on 3 November 2026.
Why does Paraguay’s vote matter for the United States?
Paraguay is the only South American country with ties to Taiwan, and the Colorado Party backs that policy. The vote does not change policy but shows how strong that camp is before the 2028 presidential election.
Figures are preliminary TREP counts of the electoral court (TSJE), as reported by Paraguayan media on 4 and 5 October; the TSJE results portal blocks automated access, so we could not read it directly.
Sources
ABC Color (TREP, Asunción); La Nación (Asunción result); La Nación (national tally); Diario HOY (TSJE statements); Última Hora (Pérez on the count); ADN Digital (Ciudad del Este); ABC Color (San Lorenzo); Infobae (Asunción); TSJE (TREP procedures)
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief