Paraguay Election Authority Limits Its Authority to Address Voting Irregularities

Paraguay's electoral tribunal stated it lacks direct enforcement powers over alleged improper assisted voting during Sunday's municipal elections, where reports showed voters entering booths with companions despite having no qualifying disabilities. The tribunal explained that polling station boards, not the electoral authority, hold final legal authority at each voting table and operate autonomously under electoral law. Electoral violations must be reported to the Public Prosecutor's Office rather than the electoral court, potentially delaying resolution of contested races.

Paraguay's 2022 electoral reform law explicitly limited in-booth voting assistance to citizens with visual impairments or upper-limb disabilities, yet enforcement mechanisms remain fragmented. The governing ANR party has publicly refused to comply with the electoral tribunal's oversight of this practice, creating tension between legal restrictions and political resistance. Sunday's municipal elections drew international scrutiny partly because a similar pattern of excessive assisted voting prompted concern from OAS observers during the 2023 general elections.

The structural problem stems from Paraguay's electoral law, which grants autonomous decision-making power to polling-station boards rather than centralizing authority in the electoral tribunal. This decentralization means that alleged violations at individual voting tables cannot be directly addressed by the TSJE, forcing cases instead through the prosecutor's office—a process that could leave contested results unresolved for extended periods.