Longtime ruling party wins Paraguay elections

By James Blears

The candidate of the longtime ruling party in Paraguay has won the Presidential Election with surprising ease, confounding political pundits who were predicting a sea of change.

It'll be five more years of power of the conservative right of center Colorado Party in Paraguay, which has held sway since 1947.

With most of the votes now counted, 44-year-old Santiago Peña, the candidate of the Colorado Party, has gained 42 percent of the vote, compared to 28 percent for 60-year-old Efrain Alegre, who's been unsuccessful in this third attempt at the top job.

The candidate of the Pact for a New Paraguay, he has graciously conceded defeat, acknowledging that his efforts have fallen short. Victorious Pena has said to the Electorate: "Thank you for this Colorado victory. Thank you for this Paraguayan victory. We have a lot to do, after past years of economic stagnation."

Unlike other nations in the Americas, in Paraguay, it's the one with the most votes, not necessarily more than fifty percent. There's no round two.

Experts, pundits and analysts had predicted that persistent poverty, corruption, a fledgling education system and inadequate health would spur voters to seek change, but instead they are sticking with what they've got and what they know. 

Outgoing President Mario Abdo Benitez is congratulating Santiago Peña who's also of the same party and allegiance. Peña will be inagurated in August. The Colorado Party has also won both houses of Congress plus fifteen of the seventeen governorships.