2008 Paraguayan general election

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2008 Paraguayan general election
Flag of Paraguay.svg
←  2003 20 April 2008 2013  →
Presidential election
  Lugo2008.jpg Blanca Ovelar.JPG Lino Oviedo.jpg
Candidate Fernando Lugo Blanca Ovelar Lino Oviedo
Party PDC Colorado UNACE
Alliance APC
Popular vote764,968540,513386,597
Percentage42.40%31.75%22.74%
Resultados de las elecciones presidenciales de Paraguay de 2008.svg
Results by department
President before election

Nicanor Duarte Frutos
Colorado

Elected President

Fernando Lugo
Patriotic Alliance for Change

Parliamentary election
80 seats in the Chamber of Deputies
45 seats in the Senate
PartyLeader%Seats+/–
Chamber of Deputies (41 seats for a majority)
Colorado Jose Alberto Alderete 32.9630-7
PLRA Blas Llano 28.2727+6
UNACE Enrique Gonzales Quintana 18.7015+5
PPQ Pedro Fadul 5.777-3
PPT 3.651New
PDP 1.701New
APC 1.322New
BDA 0.371New
Senate (23 seats needed for a majority)
Colorado 29.0715-1
PLRA 28.9214+2
UNACE 19.209+2
PPQ 8.664-3
PPS 3.471+1
PPT 2.981New
PDP 2.191New
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

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]

Contents

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.

Presidential candidates and campaigning

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]

Opinion polls

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]

Results

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]

President

CandidatePartyVotes%
Fernando Lugo Patriotic Alliance for Change 766,50242.40
Blanca Ovelar Colorado Party 573,99531.75
Lino Oviedo National Union of Ethical Citizens 411,03422.74
Pedro Fadul Beloved Fatherland Party 44,0602.44
Sergio Martínez Estigarribia Paraguayan Humanist Party 6,7440.37
Horacio Enrique Eduardo Galeano PerroneTetã Pyahu Movement3,0800.17
Julio César López Benítez Workers' Party 2,4090.13
Total1,807,824100.00
Valid votes1,807,82496.46
Invalid/blank votes66,3033.54
Total votes1,874,127100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,861,94065.48
Source: Justicia Electoral

Chamber of Deputies

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Colorado Party 582,93232.9630−7
Authentic Radical Liberal Party 500,04028.2727+6
National Union of Ethical Citizens 330,75418.7015+5
Beloved Fatherland Party 102,1395.773−7
Tekojoja People's Movement 64,5663.651New
Progressive Democratic Party 29,9801.701New
Movement for Socialism29,2231.650New
Patriotic Alliance for Change 23,3631.322–
National Encounter Party 14,2270.8000
Hope for Social Renewal9,2510.520New
Tricolour Democratic Alliance8,2800.470New
People's Unity Party8,1190.460New
Party for a Country of Solidarity 7,8870.450−2
Paraguayan Humanist Party 7,4550.4200
Tetã Pyahu Movement7,5110.420New
Caazapeña Patriotic Alliance7,4510.420New
Boquerón Departmental Alliance 6,6290.371New
National Revolutionary Alliance4,5680.260New
National Citizens' Resistance Movement4,5620.260New
Oñondivepa Political Movement4,2060.240New
Broad Front Party3,9180.2200
Northern Patriotic Alliance3,5380.200New
Workers' Party 2,1280.120New
MONAPEJUAM1,5470.090New
Departmental Consensus for Change1,2960.070New
National Christian Union 1,0770.060New
AC–PFA–BSP9460.050New
Revolutionary Febrerista Party 5200.0300
Guaireña Alliance for Change5160.030New
Republican Force Movement930.010New
Total1,768,722100.00800
Valid votes1,768,72294.45
Invalid/blank votes103,9415.55
Total votes1,872,663100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,861,94065.43
Source: TSJE

Senate

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Colorado Party 509,90729.0715−1
Authentic Radical Liberal Party 507,41328.9214+2
National Union of Ethical Citizens 336,76319.209+2
Beloved Fatherland Party 151,9918.664−3
Party for a Country of Solidarity 60,9473.471+1
Tekojoja People's Movement 52,2472.981New
Progressive Democratic Party 38,4022.191New
National Encounter Party 20,8431.190−1
Movement for Socialism10,5640.600New
National Citizens' Resistance Movement9,8640.560New
Tetã Pyahu Movement8,0300.460New
People's Unity Party7,5100.430New
Tricolour Democratic Alliance7,2600.410New
Hope for Social Renewal5,0660.290New
Paraguayan Humanist Party 4,8930.2800
Pensioners to Power4,7890.270New
Broad Front Party4,3220.2500
MONAPEJUAM3,6570.210New
Oñondivepa Political Movement3,1160.180New
National Revolutionary Alliance2,8530.160New
National Christian Union 1,9150.110New
Workers' Party 1,9510.110New
Total1,754,303100.00450
Valid votes1,754,30393.68
Invalid/blank votes118,2576.32
Total votes1,872,560100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,861,94065.43
Source: TSJE

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References

  1. ↑ "Paraguay.- Convocan en Paraguay elecciones generales para el mes de abril de 2008" Archived 2 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine , Lukor.com, 25 May 2007 (in Spanish).
  2. ↑ "OAS mission highlights Paraguayan voters great participation – People's Daily Online". en.people.cn.
  3. 1 2 "Opposition wins Paraguay polls", Al Jazeera, 21 April 2008.
  4. ↑ "Woman leads Paraguay ruling party's presidential primary", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), 17 December 2007.
  5. 1 2 "Once-jailed Paraguayan army chief nominated for opposition run for president", Associated Press (The China Post), 14 January 2008.
  6. ↑ "Paraguay nominates first woman for president, ruling party schism threatens bid", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), 22 January 2008.
  7. ↑ "Polls & Research: Lugo-Oviedo is Preferred Ticket in Paraguay". Angus Reid Global Monitor. 17 December 2006. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010.
  8. 1 2 James Painter (17 April 2008). "Paraguay election: Key candidates". BBC News. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
  9. 1 2 3 Bill Cormier, "Paraguay ex-bishop holds final rally", Associated Press, 18 April 2008. [ dead link ]
  10. 1 2 "Paraguayans head to the polls", Al Jazeera, 20 April 2008.
  11. ↑ Faries, Bill (11 February 2015). "Paraguay's Oviedo Cleared to Run for Presidency, Nacion Says". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  12. ↑ "Lino Oviedo: Politician who helped lead the 1989 coup in Paraguay". The Independent. 15 February 2013. Archived from the original on 24 March 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  13. ↑ "Oviedo Becomes New Favourite in Paraguay" Archived 21 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine Angus Reid, 20 September 2007.
  14. ↑ "Lugo Leads All in Paraguay’s Presidential Race" Archived 21 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine , Angus Reid, 22 November 2007.
  15. ↑ "Lugo Ahead of Ovelar and Oviedo in Paraguay: Angus Reid Global Monitor". Archived from the original on 21 April 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2008., Angus Reid, 26 March 2008.
  16. ↑ "Lugo Barely Ahead as Paraguay Vote Looms: Angus Reid Global Monitor". Archived from the original on 9 April 2008.
  17. ↑ "Nicanor reconoce la derrota del Partido Colorado". ultimahora.com.
  18. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 25 August 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. ↑ Pedro Servin, "Paraguay prez-elect makes deals for majority", Associated Press, 13 August 2008. [ dead link ]
  20. ↑ "Latin America's leftwing swells with new Paraguay president" Archived 2 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine , AFP, 15 August 2008.
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