Paraguay TSJE prepares voting machine distribution for municipal elections

Paraguay's Superior Court of Electoral Justice (TSJE) has announced the logistics schedule for the municipal elections scheduled for October 4. The distribution of voting machines and electoral materials will begin on September 27, starting with remote departments such as Alto Paraguay and Concepción, and concluding in Asunción on October 3.

For the elections, which will take place across 263 municipalities, 5,043,154 voters are eligible. The TSJE will deploy 14,711 polling stations and 17,992 voting machines, including contingency and training units. A total of 630 mayoral candidates and 18,973 council candidates are set to compete for terms spanning 2026–2031.

However, the electoral process faces criticism from Senator Éver Villalba. The senator has challenged the TSJE regarding the security of the voting machines, alleging that recent software updates were merely “patches” to fix flaws that allowed for the printing of certificates with zero results. Villalba expressed concerns regarding the chain of custody and the potential for unilateral manipulation of the software following audits.