Paraguay Electoral System Gets Test Run

Paraguayan officials conducted their second, of three, simulation tests of the country’s vote-counting system -  Preliminary Electoral Results Transmission (TREP) - to ensure its reliability for the April 22 presidential elections.

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The Superior Electoral Justice Tribunal (TSJE) conducted the tests and established that communication and information systems that run information from local polling stations to the national counting system are running effectively.

Some 511 authorities were on hand at the TSJE to receive and process test documents from the 1,099 polling stations around the country.

The voice transmission system was also tested involving some 768 electoral officials.

The first test took place on March 20 and the last one will take place April first.

A March poll shows presidential candidate Efrain Alegre from the centre-left Ganar Alliance is in the lead with 44.2 percent of the popular vote, two points above the Colorado Party's Mario Abdo Benitez.

Paraguay candidates were just recently allowed to start campaigning on March 21 and will have to end all campaign-related activity by Abril 19, three days before polls open.