Chamber:
	Cámara de Diputados
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	9 May 1993
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all seats in Parliament on the normal expiry of the members’ term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	The parliamentary elections were held simultaneously with those for President and Vice-President of the Republic, departmental governors and councils. They were expected to be the first genuinely free and democratic elections in the country for close to half a century and would mark an end to a transitional period inaugurated by the incumbent President General Andrés Rodriguez, who came to power in a military coup in February 1989. Three major candidates were running for President: Mr. Juan Carlos Wasmosy of the ruling National Republican Association – Colorado Party (ANR); Dr. Domingo Caballero Vargas of the newly formed National Encounter Alliance (EN). In all, some 10 lists were fielded in the congressional elections with the above-mentioned parties considered the major contenders. The election campaign officially lasted for about six months and went on smoothly although there were rumours that the military might seize power. In fact, the second in command in the army was quoted as saying that the army would never accept an opposition victory. Prominent among campaign issues were the economy, the role of the army in politics and corruption. The various candidates virtually agreed on the need to pursue market-oriented economic policies. In spite of the climate of confusion, insecurity and great mistrust, voting took place in a relatively peaceful atmosphere, with only isolated cases of violence reported. Polling was monitored by some 200 observers including former US President Jimmy Carter and a delegation of the Organisation of American States (OAS). These observers generally confirmed that the irregularities that had been noticed were not serious enough to call into question the validity of the outcome. The presidential election saw the victory of Juan Carlos Wasmosy with 39.91% of the votes. Dr. Caballero Vargas, who had been widely tipped by opinion polls, came in third with 23.41%after Dr. Laino who received 32.13%. In the congressional polls, no single party won an overall majority of the seats although the ruling Colorado Party came in first with 20 Senate and 38 Chamber of Deputies seats. The opposition PRLA and EN together won a majority of the seats while the other parties did not win enough votes to be allocated seats.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (9 May 1993): Elections results
Number of registered electors	1,698,984
Voters	1,124,986 (66.21%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	40,749
Valid votes	1,084,237

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	%
National Republican Association – Colorado Party (ANR)	49.7
Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PRLA)	40.4
National Encounter Alliance (EN)	10.9

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total
National Republican Association – Colorado Party (ANR)	38
Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PRLA)	33
National Encounter Alliance (EN)	9

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	78
Women:	2