At Stake in this Election: 

• All 80 seats of the Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies 

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 a slim majority (42 seats) followed by the Authentic Liberal Radical Party (29 seats). Seats were also won by the Beloved Fatherland Party (3), the National Encounter Party (3), Let’s Do It (1), the Green Party (1), and the National Crusade (1). 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: 42 out of 80 

• *Authentic Liberal Radical Party / Partido Liberal Radical Auténtico 

• Leader: Efraín ALEGRE Sasain 

• Seats won in the last election: 17 out of 80 

• *Beloved Fatherland / Partido Patria Querida (PPQ) 

• Leader: Sebastián VILLAREJO 

• Seats won in the last election: 3 out of 80 

• *National Encounter Party / Partido Encuentro Nacional (PEN) 

• Leader: Fernando CAMACHO 

• Seats won in the last election: 2 out of 80 

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

• Leader: Patrick KEMPER 

• Seats won in the last election: 2 out of 80 

• National Crusade / Cruzado Nacional (CN) 

• Leader: Fernando TALAVERA 

• Seats won in the last election: 1 out of 80 

• * = 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