In the midst of a climate marked by tranquility and uncertainty, from seven in the morning this Sunday, Paraguayans began to vote for
their eighth president since the return of democracy
.
In some schools in the center of Asunción, queues could be seen lining up in front of the doors even before the start time of the elections.
Men and women equipped with thermos and mate waiting in silence for the doors to open to participate in an election that appears
to be a choice between two clear options
: the continuity of the Colorado Party, or the preference for an alternation.
The two candidates leading the polls voted early and were confident in their chances of winning.
Santiago Peña, the Colorado Party candidate, voted after 8:30 a.m. at the Saint Anne School in Asunción, accompanied by his wife, Leticia Ocampos.
Paraguayan presidential candidate Efraín Alegre and his vice-presidential candidate, Soledad Núñez, pose today at a polling station in Lambaré.
Photo: EFE
"My greatest desire is to be able to win the majority of the Paraguayan vote," said Peña, who was confident that he could win "
with more than 50% of the votes
."
The data of interest in the ruling party occurred in the early hours of the morning.
At 7 in the morning, Peña gave an inaugural message to the ANR headquarters.
On a stage set up in the building's courtyard,
he was seen alongside Horacio Cartes,
the party president who has been absent from the campaign due to corruption allegations and explicit condemnation by the United States.
The former president was approached by the press when he entered the premises, but he did not make any statements.
“Dialogue is the only path to reconciliation.
It is time to give a big patriotic hug to reach the level of development that our people aspire to and deserve,” said Peña, who thanked his collaborators and the ANR team without mentioning Cartes by name.
The candidate of the National Concertation, Efraín Alegre, for his part, voted at 8 in the morning in the Association of the Ministry of Finance of Lambaré.
Arriving at the polling station together with his wife, the first thing Alegre did was denounce that representatives of the Concertación
were "being kidnapped"
in the town of Yby Pytá, and asked the authorities to intervene.
Presidential candidate Santiago Peña, from the Colorado Party, delivers a speech in Asunción today.
Photo: EFE
Alegre was confident in the victory and asked people to vote "to achieve a great result in the afternoon."
"We know that
we are going to beat a party that has abundant money
that comes from organized crime," he said, while he was confident that participation will touch 70% of the electorate, a key figure for the opposition to achieve the triumph.
The current president, Mario Abdo Benítez, also voted early, and asked that the people participate.
“
May the great winner of this election be the Paraguayan nation
”, he affirmed before the press gathered in the place.
Abdo Benítez, who has remained on the sidelines of the Colorado Party campaign due to his confrontation with the Peña sector that won the internal one, concluded his message with a defense of his management.
“Despite the difficulties we have as a Latin American country, Paraguay is doing very well.
It has been building macroeconomic strength and predictability, it has strengthened the institutions, democracy has also been consolidated ”, he completed.
According to the latest surveys, the current scenario is a technical draw between Peña and Alegre.
Voting is scheduled to last until 4:00 p.m.
(17 in Argentina).
From that moment, the count will begin and it is estimated that the first official results will begin to be announced after two hours.
Problems with electronic machines
Despite reports of some incidents and “skirmishes”, as defined by the Superior Court of Electoral Justice (TSJE), the
day unfolds calmly
.
Consulted by Clarín, an international observer from the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (IIDH), one of the organizations stationed in Paraguay to monitor the elections, confirmed that on his first tour everything was "calm."
One of the involuntary protagonists in the first hours of the election were the electronic machines.
On social networks and the media there were reports of conflicts in some schools over the location of the machines.
The most serious incident occurred in the town of Sapucai, where supporters of the Colorado Party
wanted to place the machines inside a classroom
, despite the fact that the TSJE indicated that they should be placed in the corridors.
The situation led to a fight with members of the Concertación, and at least one member of the Colorado Party
lost part of his ear
.
Members of the police had to intervene to settle the situation.
In the semi-darkness of the covered patio of the Colegio Presidente Franco, the voting queues advance slowly and in silence.
The sun shines through the On one of the sides there is a machine and a technical staff person to show how it works to those who require it.
"
There are many people who asked me to explain, especially older people
," explains Ana, the woman in charge of explaining, in dialogue with Clarín.
The requirements of
The difficulty in operating the machines created some problems.
Although the TSJE had initially indicated that in specific cases people who needed help could go with a relative, in practice, the situation generated some friction.
At the Presidente Franco College, a discussion broke out between a woman who asked to come in with her son and who was met with the refusal of a party delegate.
The disagreement rose in tension, until it was determined that the woman could pass.
On the walls of the Dante Alighieri Institute there are printed signs that read “
Forbidden to enter the dark room accompanied
”.
Next to the text is an image of two silhouettes behind an electronic machine with a red line running diagonally across them.
One of the voting queues that stretches along the coup yard is stopped.
Behind the table, you can see how officials from the TSJE remove a machine and bring in a replacement.
Once the replacement is complete, one of the officials stands in front of the line and holds up a ballot.
“Please, the ballot must be inserted whole and without folding it.
A machine just got stuck because they entered the ballot wrong.
You have to wait for the new one to restart,
I ask you for a little patience that they will now be able to vote
, ”she explained, to the lamentation of the attendees.
Asunción, special envoy
look too
Clarín in Paraguay: the country is preparing to elect a president between apathy and boredom due to allegations of corruption
Paraguay elects president between the official Santiago Peña and the liberal opposition Efraín Alegre
