A total of 28 parties will dispute Paraguay’s municipal elections

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Candidates for the 261 mayoralties total 831, while 15,535 citizens hope to fill the 2,781 positions in the Municipal councils, with the same number of substitutes, reported on Sunday the Superior Electoral Court (TSJE).

The electoral roll comprises 50.9% men and 49.1% women.

By age groups, a total of 1,457,822 voters are young men and women aged between 18 and 29, with 986,719 aged between 30 and 39. Another 788,544 voters are in the 40 to 49 age group, 855,891 are adults between 50 and 64 and 555,590 are over 65.

By geographical areas, the largest number of voters is located in the Central department, the country’s most populous (1,267,726), followed by Alto Paraná (522,922), Asunción, the country’s capital (431,876), and the departments of Itapúa (386,837) and Caaguazú (358,388).

In its report, the TSJE pointed out the institutional agreement signed to promote the participation of the country’s native peoples, through the implementation of a campaign to access identity card documentation, as well as to instruct these communities in the logistics of voting machines.

In this respect, the TSJE explained that there will be 15,139 voting machines available, installed in 1,135 voting locations, where 11,913 stations will be set up.

Electoral campaigns, which began on August 9, will end on October 7, while for public spaces and media, the period will run from September 28 to the same date.

The municipal elections should have been held last year, but were deferred because of the pandemic. The process was preceded by last June’s party elections, in which political parties and coalitions elected their municipal candidates. The ruling Partido Colorado presented the most candidates, followed by the Partido Liberal, the largest opposition party.

The elections will foreshadow the political map before internal party elections to be held on the eve of the 2023 presidential elections, also to appoint their candidates.