Paraguay protests as shedding candidates demand recount

Supporters of a right-wing candidate who got here third in Paraguay’s presidential election have clashed with police exterior the electoral court docket, amid complaints of fraud in a vote the ruling Colorado Get together gained comfortably.

Police put up fences across the court docket’s headquarters within the capital Asuncion on Monday and fired rubber bullets at younger protesters who have been throwing stones, authorities mentioned, after tons of of supporters of Paraguayo Cubas gathered.

Elsewhere, demonstrators blocked roads with burning tyres and destroying billboards with the picture of President-elect Santiago Pena, a 44-year-old economist who gained 43 per cent of the vote on Sunday in contrast with 27 per cent for runner-up Efrain Alegre.

Cubas, who shocked observers by profitable almost 23 per cent of the vote, known as in a submit on Instagram for a recount and requested his supporters to protest.

“We aren’t glad. The elections have been stolen from us. It is that easy,” Yolanda Paredes, a senator-elect and the spouse of Cubas, informed reporters.

Cubas was as a consequence of journey on Tuesday from his stronghold in Ciudad del Este, on the border with Brazil, to the capital, Asuncion.

Runner-up Alegre mentioned on Twitter that he too was calling for the electoral court docket to do a recount and for a world audit of the pc packages utilized in digital poll bins.

Inside Minister Federico Gonzalez known as for “sanity”.

“A process is being adopted and that should be revered,” he mentioned, referring to the work of the electoral court docket.

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