Historic elections in Paraguay end six decades of rule

Former Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo was elected president in a landslide victory on Apr. 20 in Paraguay, putting an end to 61 years of rule by the Colorado Party. With 52 percent of the ballots counted, the presidential candidate of the center-left Patriotic Alliance for Change (APC) took 40 percent of the vote against the 31 percent garnered by governing party candidate Blanca Ovelar, who ceded defeat. Five exit polls had previously indicated that Lugo, known as "the bishop of the poor." was three to six percentage points ahead of Ovelar, the first-ever female presidential candidate of the National Republican Alliance, better known as the Colorado Party. "We have written a new page in the political history of our nation, and I hope we can all celebrate together," Lugo said in a press conference, although without declaring himself the winner. "We are convinced that the people of Paraguay have a right to better conditions. We have felt it in the pain and the tears of so many mothers, the disenchantment of so many young people and the suffering of so many children," he said. "I call on the political class as a whole to stake their bets on the country, which was once great, and which we believe will be again," he added. Despite fears of fraud and possible disturbances, the elections went smoothly, with the exception of a few isolated incidents, according to local authorities and international election observers. Because of Paraguay's lengthy history of dictatorships, coups d'etat and election irregularities, hundreds of international observers were in Paraguay for the election, including delegations from the Organization of American States (OAS) and the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), whose mission was led by former Colombian president Andrés Pastrana. "The panorama is one of complete normality, with a few minor incidents. The high turnout was outstanding. I congratulate the people of Paraguay for their civic spirit," said former Colombian foreign minister María Emma Mejía, head of the OAS delegation. Scuffles broke out in a few polling stations between members of the Colorado party and supporters of the opposition, leading to intervention by the police and prosecutors. However, no serious violence was reported. The only irregularities were a few polling stations that opened late, reports of several people who tried to vote twice, and violations of the ban on publishing poll results. But the Supreme Electoral Court reported that the system functioned perfectly, in a climate of "total normality." Lugo, who left the priesthood in 2006 to launch his political career, emerged from APC campaign headquarters with a Paraguayan flag wrapped around his shoulders, giving a double thumbs-up. He told his loudly cheering supporters: "This is the Paraguay I dream of, of many faces and many colors" -- an allusion to the coalition that backed his candidacy, made up of 10 political parties and 20 social organizations, trade unions and small farmers' associations. Thousands of Paraguayans filled the central avenue of Asunción to celebrate the fall of the Colorado Party, which has governed Paraguay for six decades, including 35 years of dictatorship under General Alfredo Stroessner (1954-1989), who died in Brazil in 2006.