Paraguay’s ruling party candidate Pena wins presidential race

Paraguayan presidential candidate for the Colorado Party, Santiago Peña (center), celebrates with supporters accompanied by his wife, Leticia Ocampos de Pea (left), after winning the presidential election in Asuncion on April 30, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

MEXICO CITY – Paraguay's top electoral court on Sunday confirmed that ruling Colorado Party candidate Santiago Pena won the presidential elections.

According to the Superior Court of Electoral Justice, with more than 96 percent of the ballots counted, Pena garnered close to 43 percent of the votes, widely surpassing his main rival.

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Efrain Alegre, candidate of the Coalition for a New Paraguay, won 27.5 percent of the votes with no chance of gaining on Pena.

Pena will succeed President Mario Abdo Benitez, also from the Colorado Party, to govern for the next five years.

In Sunday's elections, the legislature's 45 senators and 80 deputies were also elected, as were the country's 17 governors.

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According to the court, voter participation was at 63.13 percent.