Paraguay Elections Marred by Vote-Buying, Document Fraud, and Unusual Tactics

Paraguay's recent internal municipal elections saw a number of electoral offenses, leading to the arrest of 10 to 12 individuals nationwide, according to the Public Ministry. Prosecutor Sandra Ledesma detailed the unusual methods employed by those attempting to manipulate the voting process.

While Ledesma described the overall election day as calm compared to initial expectations, the offenses reported were significant. These included vote-buying, coercion of voters, and sophisticated schemes involving document forgery and the illicit use of technology to compromise the secrecy of the ballot. The Public Ministry had prepared for such incidents based on intelligence gathering, identifying locations where cloned documents might be used.

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We already had a roadmap based on intelligence tasks that identified the locations where cloned documents would be used. Indeed, at the start of the day, we verified the use of false credentials that had already been reported.

One particularly striking tactic involved the use of wheelchairs to facilitate forced assisted voting. Additionally, authorities detained individuals found in possession of multiple identity documents, with one case involving a political operative holding 10 other people's national IDs. In a bizarre twist, some owners of the detained IDs later appeared at the police station to defend the suspect, claiming he was merely holding onto their documents.

The prosecutor's office also addressed other incidents, including brawls over the formation of voting tables and allegations of identity card retention in Coronel Oviedo. In Quyquyhó, Paraguarí department, voting was temporarily suspended for an audit of electoral material security. The investigations aim to uphold the integrity of the electoral process against these varied and sometimes outlandish attempts at fraud.

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He was just holding onto the ID for them.