Paraguayans vote Sunday, 4 October 2026, to choose mayors and municipal councils in 263 districts. The ruling Colorado Party enters the day with a commanding record from the last municipal round: in 2021, it won 163 mayoralties, compared with 62 for the Liberal Party.
There’s no presidential or congressional race on the ballot, and the national government won’t change hands. Still, observers read the contest as a test for President Santiago Peña and his party ahead of the 2028 presidential vote. The Tribunal Superior de Justicia Electoral (TSJE) lists 5,043,154 registered voters. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Paraguay time; anyone inside a polling place at closing can still cast a ballot.
The Capital Is the Prize
Asunción is the biggest race. Colorado candidate Camilo Pérez faces Soledad Núñez, a civil engineer and former housing minister who isn’t a career party politician. She’s running on the Patria Querida ticket, backed by about 15 opposition parties and movements, including the Liberals.
Two September polls put Pérez ahead. Ati Snead’s survey, taken 11–16 September, gave him about 52.6% to Núñez’s 34.3%. Grau & Asociados, which polled 16–17 September, had the result at 50.8% to 27.0%. Both outlets lean toward the ruling party, so their coverage urged caution about the size of the gaps. A lead is still a lead.
Border Cities and Trade Hubs
Ciudad del Este, the major trading city on the Brazilian border, is where the opposition sees its best chance. Daniel Mujica of the Yo Creo movement, a local reform party founded by Miguel Prieto, won a November 2025 by-election by 40 points. That vote came after Prieto’s removal from office in August 2025. Prieto predicted a historic Colorado defeat. Rigoberto Chamorro carries the Colorado banner on Governor César “Landy” Torres’s team. No recent public poll exists for the city, so people outside the campaigns can’t say how that prediction will hold up.
In Encarnación, on the Argentine border, deputy Sebastián “Cheba” Remesowski is the Colorado candidate. He won his primary with 76%. His main rival is Liberal deputy Carlos Pereira, backed by Alianza Encarnación en Marcha, which brings together the Liberals, Patria Querida and smaller parties. In San Lorenzo, near Asunción, Felipe Salomón, Colorado mayor in 2021–2026, wants his old job back against Luz Bella González, the Liberal chosen as the opposition’s consensus candidate. Neither city has a recent public poll.
The Count and the Calendar
The TSJE expected to begin its preliminary count, known as TREP, around 5:30 p.m. local time, with results from all districts due by 8 p.m. at the latest. It’s preliminary and non-binding. Electoral tribunals in each circuit will run the official count and proclaim winners after Sunday. Exit polls and survey data can’t be published until one hour after polls close.
The Colorado Party, formally the National Republican Association, was founded in 1887 and has governed almost without a break since 1947. That span includes the Stroessner dictatorship from 1954 to 1989. The party held power continuously except from 2008 to 2013. The main opposition, the centrist Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA), was founded in 1978 by opponents of Stroessner.
Markets haven’t placed bets on Sunday’s vote. No prediction market covered the municipal races. Kalshi did list 2028 congressional contracts, pricing the Colorados at about 76% to win the Senate vote and 82% for the Chamber of Deputies. The Liberals sit at 15% and 18%. Only a few thousand contracts had traded, making the prices a rough signal.
Why This Matters:
Municipal governments in Paraguay manage towns’ daily business, including in trading hubs like Ciudad del Este and Encarnación. A broad Colorado win would show strength for Peña’s party, while losses in Ciudad del Este or other large towns would give the opposition a sign of a challenge. Local results don’t translate directly into national votes, and the coverage said turnout and the durability of opposition alliances remain unknown. The economy adds pressure. The central bank reported year-on-year growth of 4.0% in the second quarter, down from 7.3% in the first, with 5.7% for the first half. Paraguay is also the only South American state that recognizes Taiwan, and debate continues over opening trade with mainland China. Voters who judge local officials on stability and growth will shape how confidently the governing party heads toward 2028.