At Stake in this Election: 

• All 45 seats of the Paraguayan Chamber of Senators 

Government Structure:  

• Chief of State: President Mario ABDO Benitez (since 15 August 2018) 

• Head of Government: President Mario ABDO Benitez (since 15 August 2018) 

• Assembly: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) consisting of a 45-seat Chamber of Senators (Cámara de Senadores) and an 80-seat Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados) 

Electoral System:  

• The President is directly elected by plurality vote and serves a single 5-year term. The president and vice president are elected as a slate. 

• All 45 senators are directly elected by closed-list proportional representation vote from a single, nationwide constituency. Senators serve 5-year terms. 

• All 80 deputies are directly elected by closed-list proportional vote in 18 multi-seat constituencies (departments). Deputies serve 5-year terms. 

Last Election: 

In 2018, the Colorado Party won 17 seats, followed closely by the Authentic Radical Liberal Party with 13 seats. Six other parties each won 1 to 6 seats. Voter turnout was 56%. 

Key Deadlines: 

• Candidate filing deadline: 17 January 2023 

• Voter registration deadline: 30 December 2022 

Main Parties in this Election: 

• Colorado Party / Asociación Nacional Republicana - Partido Colorado (ANR) 

• Leader: Horacio Manuel CARTES Jara 

• Seats won in the last election: 17 out of 45 

• *Authentic Liberal Radical Party / Partido Liberal Radical Auténtico 

• Leader: Efraín ALEGRE Sasain 

• Seats won in the last election: 13 out of 45 

• Guasú Front / Frente Guasú 

• Leader: Fernando LUGO Méndez 

• Seats won in the last election: 6 out of 45 

• *Beloved Fatherland / Partido Patria Querida (PPQ) 

• Leader: Sebastián VILLAREJO 

• Seats won in the last election: 3 out of 45 

• *Let’s Do It / Partido Político Hagamos (PPH) 

• Leader: Patrick KEMPER 

• Seats won in the last election: 2 out of 45 

• Democratic Progress / Partido Democrático Progresista (PDP) 

• Leader: Rafael FILIZZOLA Serra 

• Seats won in the last election: 2 out of 45 

• National Crusade / Cruzado Nacional (CN) 

• Leader: Fernando TALAVERA 

• Seats won in the last election: 1 out of 45 

• National Union of Ethical Citizens Movement / Unión Nacional de Ciudadanos Éticos (UNACE) 

• Leader: Jorge OVIEDO Matto 

• Seats won in last election: 1 out of 45 

• * = member of the National Coalition (Concertación Nacional) which supports the opposition presidential slate of Efraín Alegre and Soledad Núñez 

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 7,439,863 (2023 est.) 

• Registered Voters: 4,782,940 (2023) 

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 3,719,932 (2023 est.) 

• CEDAW Status: Ratified (by accession) 6 April 1987 

• Gender Quota: Yes; 20% of the candidates in each party primary election must be women. 

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 15 out of 80 in the Chamber of Deputies and 6 out of 45 in the Chamber of Senators 

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.717, High, Rank 105 (2021) 

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 22.2 (2023) 

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Signed 30 March 2007, Ratified 3 September 2008 

• Projected population with a disability: 1,115,979 (2023 est.) 

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in Paraguay: No  

• Election Access: Yes 

• Election Judgements: Yes; 5 judgements & 6 resources