Paraguayan Candidates Must Report Campaign Finances to TSJE

Nearly 19,000 candidates vying for municipal positions in Paraguay's upcoming October 4 elections face a strict financial reporting deadline. The Superior Electoral Justice Tribunal (TSJE) mandates that all candidates must submit detailed accounts of their campaign finances, including all monetary and non-monetary resources received and spent.

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We have a compliance rate of approximately 90% for submissions today, meaning only about 10% have not complied.

This requirement stems from recent legislative changes, including a new preferential voting system and Law 6.501, which significantly alters political financing regulations. These laws aim to increase transparency in electoral campaigns. Candidates must provide initial declarations of income and expenses, with final reports due 60 days after the elections. The TSJE has made these initial declarations publicly available on the National Political Financing Observatory.

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The candidates' initial declarations state or inform all monetary and non-monetary resources they have.

Cristian Ruíz Díaz, the TSJE's director of political financing, noted that while traditional political parties demonstrate a high degree of compliance, smaller movements and substitute candidates often struggle to meet the obligations. He explained that the complex web of five interconnected laws governing political financing makes the regulations difficult to understand and implement. Candidates are encouraged to use the National Political Financing System (Sinafip) to track their expenses throughout the campaign.

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Monetary resources mean if they have cash or money in a bank account they want to use to finance their campaign.