Paraguay Vote: Colorados Win 187 Towns, Lose Asunción
RESULTS · PARAGUAY ELECTIONS 2026
Updated 5 times · Latest: 5 October 2026
Key Facts
- —The result Paraguay’s ruling Colorado Party (ANR) won 187 of 263 mayoralties by La Nación’s tally of the preliminary count, a record. It lost the capital, Asunción, and failed to win Ciudad del Este, which the opposition held.
- —Asunción Opposition candidate Soledad Núñez has 47.78% (133,325 votes) and Colorado Camilo Pérez 45.98% (128,301), with 99.92% of tables counted (1,324 of 1,325). Núñez won; Pérez conceded on Monday 5 October.
- —The count The electoral court’s fast system, TREP, is unofficial and non-binding. Tribunals judge the tally sheets and proclaim winners between 5 and 23 October. New mayors take office on 3 November 2026.
- —Turnout and size Turnout in Asunción was 61.75%, nationwide 58.90% (La Nación, from the TREP). The vote covered 263 districts and 5,043,154 registered voters (TSJE).
- —Other cities Ciudad del Este: Dani Mujica (Yo Creo) 72.83%. San Lorenzo: Felipe Salomón (Colorado) 58.45%. Encarnación: Sebastián Remesowski (Colorado) 57.41%.
- —Polls Two September polls had Pérez 18 to 24 points ahead in Asunción. They missed the result.
- —Prediction markets Kalshi, regulated in the US by the CFTC, priced the Colorado Party at 76% to win the 2028 Senate election, the Liberal Party (PLRA) at 15% (as of 5:41 p.m. ET, 5 October; thin trading).
- —Why Americans care Paraguay is the only South American country that recognises Taiwan. The result shows how firm Peña’s camp is before the 2028 presidential race.
Paraguay’s opposition has won the capital. Soledad Núñez took Asunción with 47.78% of the vote against 45.98% for Colorado Camilo Pérez, a gap of 5,024 votes with 99.92% of tables counted. On Monday 5 October Pérez accepted the result. He told radio 780 AM: “Soledad won. It was a very tight victory, but she won.”
Across the country the ruling party did very well. The Colorados won 187 of 263 mayoralties in the preliminary count (La Nación), a record and up from 162 or 163 in 2021. The opposition won Asunción and held Ciudad del Este, the two prizes it wanted most. Pérez blamed “a tremendous betrayal” by some of his own party’s council candidates. See our full report:
Paraguay municipal election results.
The figures are still preliminary. The TSJE’s TREP gives quick figures, and tribunals have to judge the tally sheets before they proclaim winners. Our election center below keeps the map, the party guide and the background.
Paraguay Election 2026: Live Map of the Departments and Asunción
- Sunday, 6 a.m. ETPolls open (7 a.m. Paraguay, 11:00 Lisbon).
- Sunday, 4 p.m. ETPolls close (5 p.m. Paraguay, 21:00 Lisbon). Publishing exit polls is banned until one hour after closing.
- About 4:30 p.m. ETFirst preliminary TREP figures (5:30 p.m. Paraguay, about 21:30 Lisbon).
- By 7 p.m. ETThe TSJE expects results from all districts (8 p.m. Paraguay, midnight Lisbon).
- After SundayThe electoral tribunals in each circuit do the official count and proclaim the winners. TREP is preliminary.
- Taiwan: Paraguay is the only South American country with ties to Taipei.
- 2028: Sunday is a test for President Santiago Peña’s Colorado Party before the 2028 presidential vote.
- Economy: 4.0% growth in the second quarter, says the central bank (BCP).
Choose a department
Tap any department on the map, or a row below, for its capital, people and voters, its districts and, from Sunday evening, the preliminary count.
Facts per department were researched twice independently; a value appears only where both agreed.
Sources: Tribunal Superior de Justicia Electoral (TSJE: posts, registered voters, preliminary count TREP); INE Paraguay (census 2022); Banco Central del Paraguay (growth); Ati Snead and Grau & Asociados polls as published in September; Polymarket and Kalshi (market listings and prices, public data); ABC Color, La Nación, Última Hora. Map: geoBoundaries, DGEEC (CC BY 4.0). The Rio Times does not call races; winners are shown once the TSJE publishes them.
Asunción: the opposition wins
Núñez, a civil engineer and former housing minister under ex-president Horacio Cartes, ran for an alliance of opposition parties and movements. Pérez, the Colorado candidate, heads Paraguay’s Olympic Committee. The result beat the polls. Ati Snead (11–16 September) had Pérez at about 52.8% to 34.3%, and Grau & Asociados (16–17 September) at 50.8% to 27.0%. Outlets that published them lean towards the ruling party.
Reuters says Núñez inherits a city hall with heavy debt, missed interest payments and stalled public works. Mayor Óscar Rodríguez, a Colorado, resigned in August 2025 during a state intervention.
Pérez concedes and blames his own councillors
On Sunday night Pérez had not admitted defeat and said his team would wait for the electoral courts to judge the tally sheets (Última Hora, ABC Color). On Monday he 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.
Pérez spoke of “a tremendous betrayal” by some Colorado council candidates, “but it is part of politics”. He said his party has “perfectly identified” them and did not name anyone. ABC Color reports that Pérez put these “crossed votes” at about 20,000. A Paraguayan press tally gives a similar gap: the Colorado council list, List 1, had about 149,000 votes against his 128,301, roughly 20,900 more. These are press calculations on preliminary figures, not official ones. Núñez herself said she won “with Colorado votes” (ABC Color).
Ciudad del Este, Encarnación and San Lorenzo
In Ciudad del Este, Dani Mujica of Yo Creo (“I Believe”), the local reform movement of Miguel Prieto, won 72.83% against 23.80% for Colorado Rigoberto Chamorro. Mujica had taken over in a November 2025 by-election after the Chamber of Deputies removed Prieto in August 2025, so Yo Creo held the city. In Encarnación, Colorado Sebastián “Cheba” Remesowski won 57.41% against Liberal Carlos Pereira with 38.39%. In San Lorenzo, near Asunción, Felipe Salomón of the Colorados won re-election with 58.45% against Luz Bella González, the united opposition candidate, with 36.47%.
Nationwide: Colorados vs. Opposition
La Nación counts 187 mayoralties for the Colorados, 34 for the Liberals (PLRA) alone, 36 for local alliances, three for Yo Creo, two for independents and one for Encuentro Nacional. The Colorados took 11 of the 17 departmental capitals. President Santiago Peña projected about 186 mayoralties on election night. These tallies may shift once the tribunals finish.
What Prediction Markets Say
No market covered the municipal races. 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 the Senate contract priced the Colorado Party at 76% to win the 2028 Senate vote, against 15% for the Liberal Party (PLRA). The Senate contract had traded 3,773 contracts, 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.
Election Day: what happened
The National Police put its whole force on alert, 37,611 officers (Última Hora). Prosecutors reported 18 people detained over suspected electoral offences by their second report of the day. A dispute over assisted voting, where a companion goes into the booth with the voter, also ran through the day. See our
police alert report, assisted-voting report and election-day report.
What it means for 2028
Peña cannot run again, but his party’s machine wants to keep the presidency. A broad Colorado win in towns shows strength. Losing the capital, and failing to take Ciudad del Este, gives the opposition a story about a challenge. Reuters expects Prieto, 37, to run for president in 2028. Local races follow local logic, so municipal results do not translate directly into a national vote.
The US view: Taiwan and the economy
Paraguay is the only South American state that recognises Taiwan, one of 12 governments worldwide that do. Washington backs Taipei, so a stable pro-Taiwan government in Asunción suits US policy. Paraguay’s central bank (BCP) reported 4.0% growth year on year in the second quarter, down from 7.3% in the first.
What it means for you
Investors: expect national continuity. Municipal races rarely move Paraguayan assets, but the capital’s loss shapes the 2028 debate. Expats in Asunción: a new city administration takes over on 3 November. Travellers: no change.
What is not known
We do not know the official result. The TSJE results portal blocks automated access, so these are preliminary TREP figures as reported by Paraguayan media. The tribunals have yet to judge the tally sheets and proclaim winners, so the national tally of 187 may still shift. The 20,000 split-vote figure is a calculation on preliminary data, and Pérez did not name the councillors he blames. Which of them, if any, will face party discipline is open.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won in Asunción?
Opposition candidate Soledad Núñez beat Colorado candidate Camilo Pérez 47.78% to 45.98%, or 133,325 votes to 128,301, with 99.92% of tables counted. The count is preliminary, but Pérez conceded on 5 October.
How many mayoralties did the Colorado Party win?
By La Nación’s tally of the preliminary count, the Colorados won 187 of 263 districts. President Peña projected about 186. The opposition won Asunción and held Ciudad del Este.
When will results be official?
Electoral tribunals judge the tally sheets and proclaim winners between 5 and 23 October. New mayors and councils take office on 3 November 2026.
Why does the vote matter for the US?
The ruling Colorado Party backs Taiwan, and Paraguay is the only South American country with ties to Taipei. Results show the strength of Peña’s party before the 2028 presidential election.
Did the polls get Asunción right?
No. Two September polls had Pérez ahead by 18 to 24 points. The preliminary count has Núñez ahead by 5,024 votes.
More: Pérez concedes and blames his councillors, who is Soledad Núñez, why the Colorados won the country but lost the capital, who is Miguel Prieto, full results report, how Paraguay’s 4 October vote works, who is Santiago Peña and Paraguay in the Southern Cone. Latest: Paraguay news in English.
Figures are preliminary TREP counts of the electoral court (TSJE), as reported by Paraguayan media on 4 and 5 October; Pérez’s remarks are from 5 October; the TSJE results portal blocks automated access, so we could not read it directly.
Sources
ABC Color (Pérez concedes); 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); La Nación (Ati Snead poll); La Tribuna (Grau & Asociados poll)
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
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