Horacio Cartes has been elected President of Paraguay.
Horacio Cartes, the candidate of the Color Party, won the Paraguayan presidential election on April 21st, becoming the leader of this South American nation for the next five years.
In a preliminary announcement of the election results, Alberto Ramírez Zambonini, President of the Supreme Electoral Court of Paraguay (TSJE), stated that with 81.6% of the votes counted, Cartes secured 45.91% of the vote, while the candidate of the genuine liberal radical party, Efraín Alegre, received 36.85% of the vote.
Mr. Alegre accepted defeat to Mr. Carter.
Mr. Carter, 56, is a successful businessman but is accused by political opponents of enriching himself through cigarette smuggling and being involved in drug trafficking.
Horacio Cartes after casting his vote. (Source: Hcpresidente.com)
Beyond business, he also has a strong interest in football, serving as the president of Libertad Football Club. He previously managed the Paraguay national team during the 2010 World Cup qualifying rounds.
Ten candidates ran for president, but according to pre-election opinion polls, only these two right-wing candidates had a chance of winning.
In addition to the presidential election, more than 3.5 million Paraguayan voters were called upon to vote for the vice president, members of parliament, Paraguay's representative in the Parliament of the Southern Common Market (Parlasur), provincial governors, and members of provincial councils.
According to a TSJE official, voter turnout in this general election is estimated to be over 68%. Voting is compulsory in Paraguay.
The election attracted significant public attention in South America because, if recognized as democratic and transparent, it would allow Paraguay to rejoin the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) after its membership was suspended following the "parliamentary coup" that overthrew constitutionally elected President Fernando Lugo in June 2012.
Mr. Carter will take office on August 15th. His victory marks the return to power of right-wing political parties in this nation of 6.6 million people.
After 61 years in power, the Color Party suffered a defeat at the ballot box in the 2008 elections, with former Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo winning. However, this "Bishop for the Poor" was removed from office in a political trial on charges of "negligence in performing his duties," which regional opinion considered a coup orchestrated by the right wing against his left-wing policies.
In this general election, Lugo, as the leader of the Guasú Front, a left-wing coalition comprising about 20 political parties and social organizations, ran for the Senate.
According to (Vietnam+) - DT
