The ruling Colorado Party handily won the presidential election in Paraguay on Monday, as supporters of the third-place candidate from the right clashed with police outside the electoral court.
When hundreds of supporters of Paraguayo Cubas arrived, police erected barricades around the court’s offices and fired rubber bullets at young demonstrators hurling stones, according to authorities. Protesters torched the photo of President-elect Santiago Pena, a 44-year-old economist who received 43% of the vote on Sunday, compared to runner-up Efrain Alegre’s 27%.
In an Instagram post, Cubas, who received a shocking 23% of the vote, asked his supporters to protest and sought a recount.
This does not sit well with us. Our elections are rigged. That’s how simple it is, according to Yolanda Paredes, the senator-elect and Cubas’ wife.
Cubas was scheduled to travel from Ciudad del Este, near the Brazilian border, to Asuncion, the nation’s capital, on Tuesday.
Runner-up Alegre, too, requested a recount and an international review of the software used in computerized voting machines.
Mexico’s interior secretary, Federico Gonzalez, has begged for “sanity.”
“A procedure is being followed, and that must be respected,” he said of the activities of the electoral court.
