Santiago Peña, the candidate of the Colorado Party (conservative) in power for seven decades in Paraguay, won the presidential election on Sunday over his main center-left rival, Efrain Alegre, according to official figures from the electoral authority. Santiago Peña, a 44-year-old economist ex-minister of finance and close to former president Horacio Cartes (2013-2018), was declared the winner by the electoral tribunal, with more than 42% of the vote, against 27.5% to Mr. Alegre, according to the 96% vote count. He will succeed in August for five years to Mario Abdo Benitez.
The outgoing president, Mario Abdo Benitez, congratulated Santiago Peña, calling him “president-elect”. The presidential election takes place in a single round.
Nearly 4.8 million voters designated president, vice-president, deputies, senators, and 17 provincial governors. The Colorado Party and other right-wing parties credited themselves with a historic victory over the opposition in some provinces.
Sunday’s poll took place without major incident, according to Paraguayan police chief Gilberto Fleitas, who at the end of the day reported a few scuffles and six people detained across the country.