Five Detained Over Violations At Paraguay's Party Elections

Five Detained Over Violations at Paraguay's Party Elections

SAN SALVADOR (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st June, 2021) At least 5 people were detained in Paraguay on Sunday over electoral violations during party elections held to determine the candidates for the municipal elections slated for October 10.

"The prosecutor's office has handled approximately 20 complaints at the country level and another 20 cases of interference in incidents reported during the simultaneous elections of political parties. Five people were detained," the prosecutor's office said on Twitter on Monday.

The party elections took place on Sunday. They will determine the candidates for the municipal elections of October 10, a process that will be held with unblocked lists and electronic voting machines for the first time.

The campaign began with a delay due to the organization of security measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which claimed the lives of about 100 candidates from various political formations.

Meanwhile, the daily report of the Ministry of Health confirmed that the country's COVID-19 death toll reached 11,633 people.

However, the president of the Superior Court of Electoral Justice (TSJE), Jaime Bestard, said that the election day was excellently organized, although it was a difficult point that changed the traditional system of voting.

"Today the traditional model of the elections and the Paraguayan electoral system were completely changed since we have today implemented the technology that has allowed us to carry out and put into practice the unblocking of the lists," Bestard said at a press conference.

The Inter-American Union of Electoral Organizations supervises the elections and will issue a report at the end of the elections.

The internal and municipal elections were scheduled for November last year but were postponed due to the pandemic.