Elections in Paraguay

The Tribunal Superior de Justicia Electoral (TSJE) is Paraguay's highest electoral authority. The Registro Cívico Permanente (RCP) is the permanent electoral register; a voter must be registered and enabled in it to vote. Paraguayan citizens can vote from age 18. They must generally present their Cédula de Identidad Civil and have registration connected to the relevant district. Paraguayans living abroad can register through the RCPE using online, consular or TSJE channels. Foreigners with definitive residence can vote only in municipal elections. People in pretrial detention retain voting rights according to the TSJE's guidance, while final political suspension and other legal disqualifications can exclude a voter. The electoral register is checked through the padrón, meaning the official voter roll. A voter can challenge incorrect information through the Registro Electoral or the electoral courts. For the 2026 municipal election, registration ran from 1 March through 30 December 2026 for future electoral use, but only people registered by 30 December 2025 were eligible for the municipal vote on 4 October 2026. Registration and voting do not have a separate direct voter fee. The TSJE must generally issue an election call at least six months before the date. Parties, movements and alliances must be recognized and registered with the Justicia Electoral. Candidates usually emerge from internal elections, including simultaneous internal elections known as internas simultáneas; those elections for the current municipal cycle were scheduled for 7 June 2026. The TSJE's published guidance does not provide for independent candidacies. Presidential and vice-presidential candidates run on a joint ticket. The winning ticket needs the highest number of votes, with no second round. The president serves five years, takes office on 15 August and cannot be re-elected. Congress has 45 nationwide senators and 80 deputies elected by departments, including Asunción. Paraguay also elects 17 governors and departmental boards, as well as 18 members of the Mercosur Parliament. Municipal elections choose an intendente and a Junta Municipal in each of the country's 263 districts. Asunción has 24 council members; departmental capitals and municipalities in Groups 1 and 2 have 12, while Groups 3 and 4 have 9, in each case with titulares and suplentes. Multi-member elections use listas cerradas desbloqueadas, or closed lists that voters can unlock through preference voting. A voter casts one voto preferencial for a candidate within the chosen list. The list's total is the sum of its preference votes, and the D'Hondt method distributes seats between lists. Candidates within each successful list are ranked by preference votes. An equal candidate result is resolved first by the original list order; a tie in the seat-allocation quotient is resolved by the list with more total votes and then by lot. Voting takes place at a Mesa Receptora de Votos, the polling table responsible for identity checks and the vote record. The voter uses a voting machine, verifies the printed paper ballot and deposits it as required. The vote is personal, secret and non-transferable. TSJE rules provide accessible assistance through measures such as Mesa Accesible and Voto en Casa. Multiple voting, retaining another person's identity document, coercion and violence are electoral violations or offenses. Voting is treated as a right, a duty and a public function; failure to vote can result in a fine of 0.5 of a minimum daily wage, subject to the exceptions in Article 94. After polling closes, each Mesa Receptora de Votos counts the ballots continuously and prepares actas and certificados. TREP, the preliminary results transmission system, sends official but non-binding early results. Electoral courts then conduct the definitive count, decide challenges and proclaim the winners. TSJE decisions can be challenged only through an acción de inconstitucionalidad. If voting did not take place in at least 51% of the polling tables, a new election is required; an annulled or unheld election must be held within 30 days. The 2026 municipal election covers 263 districts and the 2026–2031 mandates. The TSJE status dated 1 September 2026 listed 5,043,154 habilitated electors, 14,711 polling tables and 17,992 voting machines. National elections normally take place about every five years in April or May, while municipal elections follow a separate cycle. The directly elected president takes office on 15 August, and the cabinet is formed after inauguration rather than through a separate parliamentary investiture vote.