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Paraguay's conservatives score big win in presidential election

Monday, 01 May 2023 1:18 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 01 May 2023 2:34 AM ]

People work at a polling station during Paraguay's general elections, in Mariano Roque Alonso, Paraguay April 30, 2023. (Photo by Reuters)

Paraguay's ruling candidate Santiago Pena, 44, scored a big win in the country's presidential election on Sunday, tightening the conservative Colorado Party's political grip in the country.

Pena had 42.7 percent of the vote with over 99.9 percent of ballots counted, a more than 15-point lead over center-left rival Efrain Alegre.

"Thank you for this Colorado victory, thank you for this Paraguayan victory," Pena said in a speech.

Alegre acknowledged the result.

Current President Mario Abdo congratulated Pena as "president-elect," as did the leaders of Brazil and Argentina.

Colorado and right-wing party candidates also performed strongly in congressional elections and governor races, with some provinces recording a historic Colorado majority over opposition rivals.

The election result leaves Pena facing a challenge to rev up Paraguay's farm-driven economy and shrink a major fiscal deficit.

"We have a lot to do, after the last years of economic stagnation, of fiscal deficit, the task that awaits us is not for a single person or for a party," Pena said in his victory speech, calling for "unity and consensus."

The vote result also underscores the dominance of the Colorado Party, which has a fierce campaign machine, despite rising discontent from some voters over the slowing economy and corruption allegations.

Dry weather helped voter turn-out, analysts said, with lines to cast ballots long after polling stations were formally meant to close at 4 p.m. local time (2000 GMT).

"All day we've observed high levels of participation," an observer for the Organization of American States (OAS) electoral mission said.

The Colorado Party has dominated politics in the landlocked South American country since the 1950s. But its popularity has been hit by a slowing economy and graft allegations.

(Source: Reuters)

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