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80 seats in the Chamber of Deputies 45 seats in the Senate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. |
Paraguayportal |
General elections were held in Paraguay on 20 April 2008. [1] Elections were held for the presidency, 45 senators, 80 representatives, 17 governors and Paraguay's members in the Mercosur Parliament. [2]
The presidential election was won by opposition candidate Fernando Lugo of the Patriotic Alliance for Change, who defeated Blanca Ovelar of the long-ruling Colorado Party. [3] The Colorado Party remained the largest in both houses of Congress despite losing several seats.
The election ended a 61-year hold on the presidency by the Colorados. The Colorados had held the presidency without interruption since 1947 (from 1947 to 1962 as the de jure sole legal party, and from 1962 to 1989 as the de facto sole legal party). Additionally, when Lugo took office on 15 August, it marked the first time since Paraguay gained independence in 1813 that an incumbent government peacefully transferred power to an elected member of the opposition.
The following candidates ran for president:
The incumbent president, Nicanor Duarte Frutos, was barred by the Constitution from running for reelection and instead supported his education secretary, Blanca Ovelar. Initial results in the Colorado Party's December 2007 primary showed Ovelar defeating former Vice President Luis Castiglioni, [4] but the result was disputed, leading to a recount. [5] On 21 January 2008, the Colorado Party electoral commission announced that Ovelar had won with 45.04% of the vote against 44.5% for Castiglioni, although Castiglioni continued to claim victory, alleging that 30,000 votes in his favor were "stolen", and said that he would take the matter to court. Ovelar said that her campaign would shift its focus from the "cruel primary campaign" to the general election and that her platform prioritized "fight against poverty and to the creation of jobs". [6]
Lugo is a former bishop who resigned from the priesthood in December 2006 in preparation for his presidential bid. As a priest, he required a permit from the Vatican to become directly involved in politics prior to 2006. [7] However, the Paraguayan constitution prohibits ministers of any faith from standing as a political candidate. Despite his resignation, the Vatican regards priesthood as a lifelong commitment but has suspended him from his duties. [8]
As bishop of San Pedro, a poor region, for ten years beginning in 1994, his support for landless peasants earned him a reputation as "the bishop of the poor". [8] He is an advocate of land reform and other measures to address poverty, but has distanced himself from leftists such as Hugo Chávez and Evo Morales, saying that he is not left-wing or right-wing but "in the middle". He vowed to end the Colorado Party's 61 year rule, fight corruption, and make Paraguay "a new country". [9] According to Lugo, he believes "in the people's self-determination and in recovering sovereignty and independence". Lugo is backed by the Patriotic Alliance for Change (APC), which includes both left and right wing groups, notably the conservative Authentic Radical Liberal Party. President Duarte caused controversy just before the election by telling the Ultima Hora newspaper that Lugo "probably sells himself" for money from Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador. [10]
Ovelar, the Colorado candidate, said that she knew "what the people need and what has to be done". She said that she would focus on job creation and the strengthening of agricultural cooperatives, hoping to reduce the number of Paraguayans who emigrate for economic reasons. [9] According to Ovelar, Paraguay has "new needs that were not obvious before ... and they require the touch of a woman". If elected, Ovelar would have been Paraguay's first female president. [10]
Lino Oviedo's conviction for 1996 mutiny was overturned by the Supreme Court in October 2007, leaving him free to run for president. [11] [12] In January 2008 he was nominated as the candidate of his party, the National Union of Ethical Citizens, without opposition. [5]
Ovelar held her last campaign rally in Asuncion on 16 April. Along with Oviedo and Fadul, she participated in a last televised debate in the early afternoon of 17 April; Lugo did not participate, and Ovelar criticized him for this. Lugo held his last rally in Asuncion later that night, with about 15,000 supporters present. [9]
A poll from September 2007 saw a three-way race develop between Lugo, Oviedo and the ANR-PC candidate. [13]
A poll from November 2007 saw Lugo lead with over 40%, with Oviedo in second place and Castiglioni or Ovelar (it was still undetermined which of the pair would run) in third place. [14]
A poll from March 2008 saw two way developing with Lugo in the lead with 31%, Ovelar in second place with 27% and Oviedo in third place with 24%. [15] A poll from 5 April 2008 saw Lugo and Ovelar in a statistical dead heat with Lugo in the lead with 30.9%, Ovelar in second with 30.1%, and Oviedo in third with 21.4%. More than 10% remained undecided. [16]
Shortly after the election, with results from 13,000 of 14,000 polling stations counted, Lugo had 41% of the vote against 31% for Ovelar and 22% for Oviedo. Lugo's supporters celebrated in the streets of Asuncion, and he declared that "today we've written a new chapter in our nation's political history". Ovelar conceded defeat, acknowledging that Lugo's lead was unassailable. [3] A couple of hours later, President Nicanor Duarte Frutos appeared at a press conference somberly but remarked that for the first time in the history of Paraguay a handover to the opposition will take place peacefully and in an orderly fashion. [17]
In the gubernatorial election, the ANR won nine departments, the PLRA seven and the APC one. [18]
In August, shortly before taking office, Lugo struck a deal with Oviedo, enabling him to govern with a parliamentary majority. Together, the Authentic Liberal Radical Party and National Union for Ethical Citizens will hold 25 out of 45 Senate seats and 44 out of 80 House of Representatives seats. [19]
Lugo was sworn in as president on 15 August 2008. [20]
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Fernando Lugo | Patriotic Alliance for Change | 766,502 | 42.40 | |
Blanca Ovelar | Colorado Party | 573,995 | 31.75 | |
Lino Oviedo | National Union of Ethical Citizens | 411,034 | 22.74 | |
Pedro Fadul | Beloved Fatherland Party | 44,060 | 2.44 | |
Sergio Martínez Estigarribia | Paraguayan Humanist Party | 6,744 | 0.37 | |
Horacio Enrique Eduardo Galeano Perrone | Tetã Pyahu Movement | 3,080 | 0.17 | |
Julio César López Benítez | Workers' Party | 2,409 | 0.13 | |
Total | 1,807,824 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 1,807,824 | 96.46 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 66,303 | 3.54 | ||
Total votes | 1,874,127 | 100.00 | ||
Registered voters/turnout | 2,861,940 | 65.48 | ||
Source: Justicia Electoral |
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Colorado Party | 582,932 | 32.96 | 30 | −7 | |
Authentic Radical Liberal Party | 500,040 | 28.27 | 27 | +6 | |
National Union of Ethical Citizens | 330,754 | 18.70 | 15 | +5 | |
Beloved Fatherland Party | 102,139 | 5.77 | 3 | −7 | |
Tekojoja People's Movement | 64,566 | 3.65 | 1 | New | |
Progressive Democratic Party | 29,980 | 1.70 | 1 | New | |
Movement for Socialism | 29,223 | 1.65 | 0 | New | |
Patriotic Alliance for Change | 23,363 | 1.32 | 2 | – | |
National Encounter Party | 14,227 | 0.80 | 0 | 0 | |
Hope for Social Renewal | 9,251 | 0.52 | 0 | New | |
Tricolour Democratic Alliance | 8,280 | 0.47 | 0 | New | |
People's Unity Party | 8,119 | 0.46 | 0 | New | |
Party for a Country of Solidarity | 7,887 | 0.45 | 0 | −2 | |
Paraguayan Humanist Party | 7,455 | 0.42 | 0 | 0 | |
Tetã Pyahu Movement | 7,511 | 0.42 | 0 | New | |
Caazapeña Patriotic Alliance | 7,451 | 0.42 | 0 | New | |
Boquerón Departmental Alliance | 6,629 | 0.37 | 1 | New | |
National Revolutionary Alliance | 4,568 | 0.26 | 0 | New | |
National Citizens' Resistance Movement | 4,562 | 0.26 | 0 | New | |
Oñondivepa Political Movement | 4,206 | 0.24 | 0 | New | |
Broad Front Party | 3,918 | 0.22 | 0 | 0 | |
Northern Patriotic Alliance | 3,538 | 0.20 | 0 | New | |
Workers' Party | 2,128 | 0.12 | 0 | New | |
MONAPEJUAM | 1,547 | 0.09 | 0 | New | |
Departmental Consensus for Change | 1,296 | 0.07 | 0 | New | |
National Christian Union | 1,077 | 0.06 | 0 | New | |
AC–PFA–BSP | 946 | 0.05 | 0 | New | |
Revolutionary Febrerista Party | 520 | 0.03 | 0 | 0 | |
Guaireña Alliance for Change | 516 | 0.03 | 0 | New | |
Republican Force Movement | 93 | 0.01 | 0 | New | |
Total | 1,768,722 | 100.00 | 80 | 0 | |
Valid votes | 1,768,722 | 94.45 | |||
Invalid/blank votes | 103,941 | 5.55 | |||
Total votes | 1,872,663 | 100.00 | |||
Registered voters/turnout | 2,861,940 | 65.43 | |||
Source: TSJE |
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Colorado Party | 509,907 | 29.07 | 15 | −1 | |
Authentic Radical Liberal Party | 507,413 | 28.92 | 14 | +2 | |
National Union of Ethical Citizens | 336,763 | 19.20 | 9 | +2 | |
Beloved Fatherland Party | 151,991 | 8.66 | 4 | −3 | |
Party for a Country of Solidarity | 60,947 | 3.47 | 1 | +1 | |
Tekojoja People's Movement | 52,247 | 2.98 | 1 | New | |
Progressive Democratic Party | 38,402 | 2.19 | 1 | New | |
National Encounter Party | 20,843 | 1.19 | 0 | −1 | |
Movement for Socialism | 10,564 | 0.60 | 0 | New | |
National Citizens' Resistance Movement | 9,864 | 0.56 | 0 | New | |
Tetã Pyahu Movement | 8,030 | 0.46 | 0 | New | |
People's Unity Party | 7,510 | 0.43 | 0 | New | |
Tricolour Democratic Alliance | 7,260 | 0.41 | 0 | New | |
Hope for Social Renewal | 5,066 | 0.29 | 0 | New | |
Paraguayan Humanist Party | 4,893 | 0.28 | 0 | 0 | |
Pensioners to Power | 4,789 | 0.27 | 0 | New | |
Broad Front Party | 4,322 | 0.25 | 0 | 0 | |
MONAPEJUAM | 3,657 | 0.21 | 0 | New | |
Oñondivepa Political Movement | 3,116 | 0.18 | 0 | New | |
National Revolutionary Alliance | 2,853 | 0.16 | 0 | New | |
National Christian Union | 1,915 | 0.11 | 0 | New | |
Workers' Party | 1,951 | 0.11 | 0 | New | |
Total | 1,754,303 | 100.00 | 45 | 0 | |
Valid votes | 1,754,303 | 93.68 | |||
Invalid/blank votes | 118,257 | 6.32 | |||
Total votes | 1,872,560 | 100.00 | |||
Registered voters/turnout | 2,861,940 | 65.43 | |||
Source: TSJE |
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. It has a population of 7 million, nearly 3 million of whom live in the capital and largest city of Asunción, and its surrounding metro. Although one of only two landlocked countries in South America, Paraguay has ports on the Paraguay and Paraná rivers that give exit to the Atlantic Ocean, through the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway.
Óscar Nicanor Duarte Frutos is a Paraguayan politician who served as President of Paraguay from 2003 to 2008. In 2013, President Horacio Cartes appointed Duarte as Ambassador to Argentina, a diplomatic posting he held from 2013 until 2016. Duarte currently holds the title of Senator for life.
The National Republican Association – Colorado Party is a conservative political party in Paraguay, founded on 11 September 1887 by Bernardino Caballero. Since 1947, the Colorado party has been dominant in Paraguayan politics, ruling as the only legal party between 1947 and 1962, and has controlled the presidency since 1948 notwithstanding a brief interruption between 2008 and 2013. With almost 2 million members, it is the largest political party in the country.
Lino César Oviedo Silva was the leader of the National Union of Ethical Citizens, which split from the Colorado Party in 2002.
Raúl Alberto Cubas Grau is a Paraguayan politician who served as the President of Paraguay from 1998 until his resignation in 1999.
Juan Carlos Wasmosy Monti was the president of Paraguay from August 15, 1993 until August 15, 1998. He was a member of the Colorado Party, and the country's first freely elected president, as well as the first civilian president in 39 years.
Luis María del Corazón de Jesús Dionisio Argaña Ferraro was a Paraguayan politician and jurist. A prominent and influential member of the Colorado Party, he was a Supreme Court judge, unsuccessfully ran for the Colorado Party's nomination for president in the 1993 election and eventually was elected Vice-President in the 1998 election, but was assassinated seven months after assuming office in March 1999 at a time when it appeared likely that he would inherit the presidency from Raúl Cubas, who was on the verge of being impeached. The incident and its aftermath is known in Paraguay as Marzo paraguayo. An airport in Paraguay, Dr. Luis María Argaña International Airport, is named for him.
The National Union of Ethical Citizens is a right-wing populist political party in Paraguay.
Luis Alberto Castiglioni Soria is a Paraguayan politician. He was Vice President of Paraguay for the Colorado Party from 2003 to 2007.
The Chamber of Senators of Paraguay, the upper house of the National Congress, has 45 members, elected for a five-year term by proportional representation.
Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez is a Paraguayan politician and laicized Catholic bishop who was President of Paraguay from 2008 to 2012. Previously he was a Roman Catholic priest and bishop, serving as Bishop of the Diocese of San Pedro from 1994 to 2005. He was elected as president in 2008, an election that ended 61 years of rule by the Colorado Party.
Blanca Margarita Ovelar de Duarte is a Paraguayan politician and former Minister of Education. She was the Colorado Party's nominee for president in the April 2008 presidential election, in which she was defeated.
Francisco Arcidio Oviedo Brítez is a Paraguayan politician from the Colorado Party. He served as 27th Vice President of Paraguay from 21 November 2007 to 15 August 2008.
General elections were held in Paraguay on 21 April 2013. They resulted in a victory for the Colorado Party, which had ruled the country for 60 years before losing power in 2008. The presidential elections were won by the Colorado Party's Horacio Cartes, who defeated Efraín Alegre of the Paraguay Alegre alliance. The Colorado Party also won the most seats in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies.
Fernando Lugo, elected President of Paraguay in 2008, was impeached and removed from office by the Congress of Paraguay in June 2012. On 21 June the Chamber of Deputies voted 76 to 1 to impeach Lugo, and the Senate removed him from office the following day, by 39 votes to 4, resulting in Vice President Federico Franco, who had broken with Lugo, becoming President. Lugo contends he was denied due process because he did not have enough time to prepare a defense. A number of Latin American governments declared the proceeding was effectively a coup d'état. Lugo himself formally accepted the impeachment, but called it a "parliamentary coup".
Blas Nicolás Riquelme Centurión was a Paraguayan politician and businessman. He was a member of the Senate of Paraguay for the Colorado Party from 1989 to 2008, and was elected President of the party, succeeding Luis María Argaña; he resigned in 1994. He was a candidate in the Colorado Party's 1996 primary election for the 1998 presidential election, backed by Lino Oviedo. He was leader of the Movimiento Tradicionalismo Democrático (TRADEM), and one of the major financiers of the Colorado Party. He was President of the Chamber of Industry until 1984.
Pedro Efraín Alegre Sasiain is a Paraguayan politician, lawyer, and university professor. President of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA), Alegre served as president of the Chamber of Deputies between 2000 and 2001; Senator in 2008; and Minister of Public Work and Communications between 2008 and 2011 in the Fernando Lugo cabinet. He was a presidential candidate in the 2013, 2018, and 2023 general elections, coming second in all three elections and losing to different candidates from the Colorado Party in each of the three elections.
Mario Abdo Benítez is a Paraguayan politician who has served as the president of Paraguay since 2018. He was previously a senator and President of the Senate.
The Marzo paraguayo was a political crisis that occurred in Paraguay because of the assassination of the then-Vice President Luis María Argaña on 23 March 1999. The opposition blamed the then-President, Raúl Cubas Grau, and also the strongman of Paraguayan politics of that time, Lino Oviedo, for the assassination. Argaña's assassination provoked a series of demonstrations by opponents and supporters to Oviedo and the Cubas government, which culminated in clashes in which seven demonstrators opposed to the government died, which resulted in the resignation of Cubas from the presidency.
Lilian Graciela Samaniego González is a Paraguayan pharmaceutical chemist and politician of the Colorado Party. She has been a member of the Senate of Paraguay since 2004.
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