2013 Paraguayan general election

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.Horacio Cartes wins Paraguay presidential election BBC News, 22 April 2013 The Colorado Party also won the most seats in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies.

Background

In the previous general elections in 2008 Fernando Lugo was elected President. However, he was controversially impeached and removed from office in a 48-hour period in June 2012, following an eviction at a farm that led to the death of six police and eleven farmers. Lugo was replaced by his vice-president Federico Franco. Following the impeachment, Paraguay was suspended from Mercosur and Unasur, who denounced the impeachment as a Congressional coup.Paraguay holds key presidential election BBC News, 21 April 2013

Franco was barred from running for a full term in 2013. The Constitution of Paraguay does not allow a president to run for reelection, even if he serves a partial term.

Candidates Eleven candidates contested the presidential election:Candidatures 2013 General Elections Presidential candidateVice-presidential candidatePartyEfraín AlegreRafael FilizzolaParaguay AlegreRicardo AlmadaLibrada MartinezWhite PartyEduardo ArceGloria BareiroWorkers' PartyAníbal CarrilloRafael AguayoGuasú FrontMiguel CarrizosaArsenio OcamposBeloved Fatherland PartyHoracio CartesJuan AfaraColorado PartyRoberto FerreiraLuis VallejosParaguayan Humanist PartyMario FerreiroCynthia BrizuelaForward CountryAtanasio GaleanoDigno ValdezPartido Patria LibreLuis VillamayorLilian SotoKuña Pyrenda

Coalitions formed for the election included the:

Forward Country (Avanza País), a centre-left alliance including, amongst others, the Revolutionary Febrerista Party and the Christian Democratic Party.

Frente Guasú, a left-wing alliance including, amongst others, the Party for a Country of Solidarity and the Paraguayan Communist Party.

Paraguay Alegre (lit. Happy Paraguay, alluding to their candidate's name), a centrist alliance including, amongst others, the Authentic Radical Liberal Party, the Democratic Progressive Party and the National Encounter Party.

On the night of 2 February 2013, Lino Oviedo Silva, the candidate of the right-wing National Union of Ethical Citizens, died in a helicopter accident near Puerto Antequera, in the Chaco region. His death was confirmed the following day, when the national police rescue team found the three burnt corpses of Oviedo, the plane's pilot, and a bodyguard. His candidacy was taken over by his nephew Lino Oviedo Sánchez.Lino Oviedo Sanchez visita Luque Unace

Campaign Reporters without Borders said in April 2013 that "Paraguay continues to be a dangerous country for journalists, in part because of the links between politics and organized crime, which were widely criticized during the campaign." It noted that two television stations (the public TV Pública and private Canal 9 SNT) had refused to air a Frente Guasú campaign ad highlighting the role of candidates Cartes and Alegre in the impeachment of Fernando Lugo.Campaign marred by censorship, post-election reprisals feared Reporters without Borders, 18 April 2013

During the campaign Cartes made homophobic statements, comparing homosexuals to monkeys and saying he would shoot himself in the testicles if his son turned out to be gay.

Opinion polls Agency/SourceDate Horacio Cartes Efrain Alegre Mario Ferreiro Lino Oviedo Sánchez Aníbal Carrillo Miguel Carrizosa Lilian Soto Eduardo Arce None "Don't know"/No answer Asisa 26 Feb 2013 29.3% 22.1% 19.8% 7.1% 3.2% 2.5% 1.6% - - 13.7% Ati Snead 28 Feb 2013 36.7% 37.1% 5.6% ? 2.8% ? ? ? ? ? First 15 Mar 2013 37.3% 30.3% 9.5% 3.1% 1.9% 3.2% 0.7% 0.4% 0.4% 13.2% GEO 15 Mar 2013 36.8% 35.6% 7.7% 6.8% 6.1% 1.0% 0.3% - 0.6% 5.1% Grau 21 Mar 2013 42.7% 29.2% 9.6% 6.2% 2.7% 0.5% 0.2% - 1.1% 7.8% First 4 Apr 2013 37.6% 31.7% 10.9% 7.1% 1.9% 3.0% 0.2% - 0.3% 7.3% Taka 5 Apr 2013 41.7% 27.5% 12.1% 3.1% 2.9% 5.7% - - 1.2% 5.9% Ati Snead 5 Apr 2013 36.4 37.9% 8.5% 4.0% 2.7% 3.0% - - - 6.0% Grau 11 Apr 2013 45.3% 31.2% 8.6% 2.5% 2.9% 0.9% 0.1% - 2.2% 6.4% GEO 11 Apr 2013 34.8% 36.7% 9.9% 1.6% ? ? ? ? ? 8.9%

Results President

Senate

Elected Senators Name Political Party Political Alliance Adolfo Marcelino Ferreira SanabriaRevolutionary Febrerista PartyAvanza País Arnaldo Euclides Giuzzio Benítez Democratic Progressive PartyDemocratic Progressive Party Arnoldo Wiens Durksen Colorado PartyColorado PartyBlanca Beatriz Fonseca Legal Authentic Radical Liberal PartyAuthentic Radical Liberal PartyBlanca Margarita Ovelar de Duarte Colorado PartyColorado Party Blas Antonio Llano Ramos Authentic Radical Liberal PartyAuthentic Radical Liberal Party Carlos Alberto Amarilla Cañete Authentic Radical Liberal PartyAuthentic Radical Liberal PartyCarlos Alberto Filizzola Pallarés Party for a Country of SolidarityGuasú Front Carlos Núñez Agüero Colorado PartyColorado Party Derlis Ariel Alejandro Osorio Nunes Colorado PartyColorado Party Desirée Graciela Masi Jara Democratic Progressive PartyDemocratic Progressive Party Eduardo Romalino Petta San Martín National Encounter PartyNational Encounter Party Emilia Patricia Alfaro de Franco Authentic Radical Liberal PartyAuthentic Radical Liberal Party Enrique Fausto Bacchetta Chiriani Colorado PartyColorado PartyEnzo Cardozo Jiménez Authentic Radical Liberal PartyAuthentic Radical Liberal Party Esperanza Martínez de PortilloParty of Citizen ParticipationGuasú Front Fernando Alberto Silva Facetti Authentic Radical Liberal PartyAuthentic Radical Liberal Party Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez IndependentGuasú Front Gustavo Javier Alfonso González Colorado PartyColorado Party Jorge Antonio Oviedo Matto National Union of Ethical CitizensNational Union of Ethical Citizens José Manuel Bóbeda Melgarejo National Union of Ethical CitizensNational Union of Ethical Citizens Juan Carlos Román Galaverna Delvalle Colorado PartyColorado Party Juan Darío Monges Espínola Colorado PartyColorado Party Julio Antonio Quiñónez Daiub Colorado PartyColorado Party Julio César Ramón Franco Gómez Authentic Radical Liberal PartyAuthentic Radical Liberal Party Julio César Velázquez Tillería Colorado PartyColorado Party Lilian Graciela Samaniego González Colorado PartyColorado Party Luis Alberto Castiglioni Soria Colorado PartyColorado Party Luis Alberto Cayetano Wagner Lezcano Authentic Radical Liberal PartyAuthentic Radical Liberal Party María Blanca Lila Mignarro de González Authentic Radical Liberal PartyAuthentic Radical Liberal Party Mario Abdo Benítez Colorado PartyColorado Party Miguel Abdón Saguier Carmona Authentic Radical Liberal PartyAuthentic Radical Liberal Party Miguel Ángel Ignacio López Perito April 20 MovementAvanza País Mirta Leonor Gusinky de Cubas Colorado PartyColorado Party Nelson Darío Aguinagalde Gallinar Colorado PartyColorado Party Óscar Alberto González Daher Colorado PartyColorado Party Óscar Hugo Richer Florentín Popular Socialist Convergence PartyGuasú Front Óscar Rubén Salomón Fernández Colorado PartyColorado Party Pedro Arthuro Santa Cruz Insaurralde Democratic Progressive PartyDemocratic Progressive Party Ramón Gómez Verlangieri Authentic Radical Liberal PartyAuthentic Radical Liberal Party Roberto Ramón Acevedo Quevedo Authentic Radical Liberal PartyAuthentic Radical Liberal Party Silvio Adalberto Ovelar Benítez Colorado PartyColorado Party Sixto Pereira Galeano Tekojoja People's PartyGuasú Front Víctor Alcides Bogado GonzálezColorado PartyColorado Party Zulma Ramona Gómez Cáceres Authentic Radical Liberal PartyAuthentic Radical Liberal Party Source: Justicia Electoral

Chamber of Deputies

Elected Deputies