Internal elections in Itapúa conclude with minor incidents, vote inducement under scrutiny

Internal elections in Paraguay's Itapúa department concluded with minor incidents, notably allegations of vote inducement. The primary focus was on the internal elections of the ANR party, with the PLRA and other parties forming alliances in 19 of the department's 30 cities.

In Encarnación and Coronel Bogado, authorities received reports of vote inducement. In Encarnación, a candidate named Sol García, running for Honor Colorado (HC), appeared with a man dressed as a "sun," a clear allusion to her name. The Public Ministry intervened, with prosecutor Carlos Gómez requesting García leave the electoral venue.

In Coronel Bogado, citizens reported that HC political operators entered the voting booths with voters, and videos circulated on social media appearing to show them pressing the voting machines for individuals. Prosecutor Rodolfo Colmán of the Penal Unit in Coronel Bogado stated that while the offense could not be confirmed in flagrante delicto, the videos would be used to investigate and identify the political operators involved.

The polls closed at 4:00 PM without major disruptions. Hebe Lugo, responsible for Electoral Justice for the Colorado primaries, explained that four contingency machines were used at the Regional Center due to humidity damaging and jamming the ballots. Encarnación, the departmental capital, is the ninth-largest electoral territory nationally, with 48,789 eligible voters for the primaries. Three electoral colleges were set up for the internal elections, with the Centro Regional de Educación de Encarnación (CREE) being the largest venue.