Elections in Paraguay: Payo Cubas denounces alleged fraud and violent clashes between his followers and the police

The tranquility that reigned over the presidential elections in Paraguay was interrupted on Monday afternoon, after Payo Cubas denounced an alleged fraud in the elections won by Santiago Peña, and called to resist the assumption of the new authoritieswhich led to violent clashes between his followers and the police near the Superior Court of Electoral Justice (TSJE).

After midnight, the police repressed the protesters with rubber bullets. Due to the situation, coupled with the fact that there are roadblocks in other parts of the country, medium and long-distance transport companies announced on Tuesday that they will service their services.

It all started in the afternoon, when Cubas followers marched towards the headquarters of the TSJE extension to Asunción to ask for the voting minutes to be reviewed, after the leader’s denunciation.

Cubas, the anti-system candidate considered a sort of “Paraguayan Milei” who finished third in the elections with almost 23% of the votes, based his grievances on the fact that the company that deals with the voting machines had not answered some questions he asked alleged irregularities in the elections.

“It is impossible for a depleted population to have given these drug traffickers a victory,” Cubas said in the public denunciation he made Monday afternoon.

In turn, he accused the Authentic Liberal Radical Party of knowing about the alleged scam and of being an “accomplice” to the incident.

Shortly after the announcement, followers of Cubas began gathering at the intersection of Eusebio Ayala and Defensores del Chaco avenues, opposite the TSJE, in Asunción. With posters supporting Cubas and Paraguayan flags, large groups of people began to arrive ask for the annulment of the elections and vote again.

Faced with the growing crowd, the police quickly installed a security operation on the site and erected fences to prevent them from approaching the building. Cubas, who filed the complaint from Ciudad del Este, announced that tomorrow he will travel to Asunción to lead the protest.

Faced with the situation, the observation mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) which monitored the elections in Paraguay said it had found no irregularities in the voting process and asked the protesters to channel their grievances through institutional channels .

Efraín Alegre, who finished second in the elections, also joined the election protests and demanded that 10% of electronic ballot boxes be controlled, as well as the manual counting of ballot papers.

“We tell the TSJE that we will be attentive to their willingness to make the current electoral process transparent with a physical and militant presence,” Alegre tweeted.

Roadblocks and tension in Ciudad del Este

In Ciudad del Este, about 1,500 followers of Payo Cubas cut different sections of the PY02 route to protest against the alleged fraud reported by the candidate. The situation has generated tension, since journalists present on the spot reported that people who were protesters harass people identified with the Colorado Party.

Cubas supporters, also draped in Paraguayan flags, sang protest songs and burned book covers, demanding that voting records be reviewed.