Camilo Pérez Concedes Asunción, Blames Councillors
ELECTION AFTERMATH · PARAGUAY
Key Facts
- —The concession Camilo Pérez, the Colorado Party candidate in Asunción, accepted defeat on Monday 5 October 2026, on radio 780 AM: “Soledad won. It was a very tight victory, but she won.”
- —The margin Soledad Núñez 133,325 votes (47.78%), Pérez 128,301 (45.98%), a gap of 5,024 votes with 99.92% of tables counted in the preliminary count (TREP).
- —The blame Pérez spoke of “a tremendous betrayal” by some Colorado council candidates. He did not name them.
- —The split vote ABC Color reports that Pérez put these “crossed votes” at about 20,000. A Paraguayan press tally gives a similar gap of about 20,900 between the Colorado council list and his total.
- —Nationwide The Colorados still won 187 of 263 mayoralties, a record, by La Nación’s count of the preliminary figures.
- —Prediction markets Kalshi, regulated in the US by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), priced the Colorado Party at 76% to win the 2028 Senate election and the Liberal Party (PLRA) at 15% (as of 5:41 p.m. ET, 5 October; thin trading, 3,773 contracts).
- —Why Americans care Paraguay is the only South American country that recognises Taiwan. A rift inside its ruling party matters for the 2028 presidential race.
Camilo Pérez, the Colorado Party’s candidate for mayor of Asunción, conceded defeat on Monday 5 October 2026. He lost the capital to opposition candidate Soledad Núñez by 5,024 votes. He then blamed some of his own party’s council candidates for what he called “a tremendous betrayal”.
The Colorado Party, officially the National Republican Association (ANR), is Paraguay’s conservative ruling party, founded in 1887. President Santiago Peña belongs to it, and its dominant faction, Honor Colorado, is led by former president Horacio Cartes. The party won most of the country on Sunday but lost the capital it had held since 2019.
For US readers, the fight is about 2028. Peña cannot run again, and Paraguay is Taiwan’s only ally in South America. Who controls the Colorado machine will shape that race.
What Pérez said, and when
On Sunday night Pérez did not concede. He said the margin was narrow and that his team would wait for the electoral courts to judge the tally sheets (Última Hora, ABC Color). President Peña also held back, calling the result very tight and saying there was a lot to analyse (Infobae, Última Hora).
On Monday Pérez changed course on 780 AM radio. “Soledad won,” he said. He added that he comes from sport and knows how to win and how to lose. He leads Paraguay’s Olympic Committee.
Núñez confirmed that she spoke to him that day (ABC Color).
The “betrayal” and the numbers
Pérez said some Colorado council members had betrayed him, “but it is part of politics”. Asked who, he said the party has them “perfectly identified” and named no one. The Colorado council candidates run on List 1, the party’s slate for the 24-seat Asunción city council.
The idea behind the claim is split-ticket voting. Many voters backed Colorado council candidates but not Pérez for mayor. ABC Color reports that Pérez counted about 20,000 such “crossed votes”. A Paraguayan press tally gives a similar gap: List 1 drew about 149,000 votes, against 128,301 for Pérez.
Núñez, speaking to ABC Color, said she won “with Colorado votes”. Both figures are calculations on preliminary data, not official results.
Colorado leaders turn on each other
Former president Nicanor Duarte Frutos, a Colorado veteran, called for a “ferocious self-criticism” inside the party (Última Hora). Senator Lilian Samaniego, a party dissident, said the only person responsible for the defeat is Cartes (ABC Color). Senate president Bachi Núñez played the loss down and called the vote a prelude to 2028, while also calling for self-criticism (ABC Color).
The blame game matters because rival camps are already preparing for 2028. Cartes has named Vice President Pedro Alliana as his candidate (La Nación, November 2025). Arnoldo Wiens, from the Añetete movement of former president Mario Abdo, also wants the nomination (Última Hora).
How the capital was lost
Pérez led early in the preliminary count and gave a speech as if he had won. The trend turned after about 6:30 p.m. local time (ABC Color, Diario HOY). Two September polls had put Pérez 18 to 24 points ahead, so the result beat the surveys.
Núñez is a civil engineer and former housing minister who ran with opposition candidate Efraín Alegre as his vice-presidential partner in 2023. Her Juntos por Asunción alliance, backed by the Liberal Party (PLRA), brought together a broad opposition slate. Read our profile of Soledad Núñez.
The wider picture
Nationwide, the Colorados won 187 of 263 mayoralties, up from about 162 in 2021 (La Nación). They took 11 of the 17 departmental capitals. In Asunción’s city council the preliminary count gives the party 15 of 24 seats, so Núñez will govern against a Colorado majority (Infobae, ABC Color).
The electoral tribunals judge the tally sheets and proclaim winners between 5 and 23 October. New mayors take office on 3 November 2026. See our results page and our analysis of the national result.
What Prediction Markets Say
No market covers the municipal races or the 2028 presidency. The only Paraguayan contract is a Kalshi market on the 2028 Senate election. Kalshi is regulated in the US by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). At 5:41 p.m. ET on 5 October it priced the Colorado Party at 76% to win the Senate vote and the Liberal Party (PLRA) at 15%. Only 3,773 contracts had traded, so trading is thin. A contract pays US$1 if the outcome happens, so the price reads as a probability. These are bets, not polls.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What it means for US readers
Investors should expect national policy to stay the same. The vote was municipal, and Peña’s government is not up for election until 2028. The risk is a Colorado party that spends the next two years arguing about who lost Asunción.
Expats and travellers in Asunción will see a new city administration from 3 November, led by an opposition mayor and a council with a Colorado majority.
What is not known
We do not know whether the official count will change the margin. The TSJE results portal blocks automated access, so these are preliminary figures reported by Paraguayan media. We do not know which councillors Pérez means. Nor do we know whether the party will punish anyone, or how Cartes and Peña will respond in public.
Did Camilo Pérez concede the Asunción election?
Yes. On Monday 5 October 2026 Pérez said on radio 780 AM that Soledad Núñez won, calling it a very tight victory. On Sunday night he had not conceded.
Who won the Asunción mayoral race?
Opposition candidate Soledad Núñez won with 47.78% (133,325 votes) against 45.98% (128,301) for Pérez, a gap of 5,024 votes in the preliminary count. Tribunals still have to proclaim her.
What did Pérez mean by “betrayal”?
He said some Colorado council candidates betrayed him. ABC Color reports he counted about 20,000 voters who backed Colorado councillors but not him. He named no one.
Did the Colorado Party lose the whole country?
No. The Colorados won 187 of 263 mayoralties, a record, by La Nación’s count. They lost Asunción to Núñez and did not win Ciudad del Este, which Yo Creo held.
When does the new mayor take office?
Núñez is due to take office on 3 November 2026, after the electoral tribunals judge the tally sheets and proclaim winners between 5 and 23 October.
More: Paraguay election results page, who is Soledad Núñez, who is Miguel Prieto, who is Santiago Peña and Paraguay news in English.
Figures are preliminary TREP counts of the electoral court (TSJE), as reported by Paraguayan media on 4 and 5 October. Quotes are translated from Spanish.
Sources
ABC Color (Pérez concedes); Última Hora (Pérez accepts); Última Hora (Sunday night); ABC Color (Núñez: votes); ABC Color (TREP); La Nación (national tally); Diario HOY (Pérez); Última Hora (Duarte Frutos); ABC Color (Samaniego); ABC Color (Bachi Núñez); Infobae (council seats)
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