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PARAGUAY
Cámara de Senadores (Senate)
ELECTIONS IN 2008

Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module

A historical Archive of past election results for this chamber can be found on a separate page

Parliament name (generic / translated) Congreso / Congress
Structure of parliament Bicameral
Chamber name (generic / translated) Cámara de Senadores / Senate
Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) Cámara de Diputados / Chamber of Deputies
BACKGROUND
Dates of election / renewal (from/to) 20 April 2008
Purpose of elections Elections were held for all seats in the Senate on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
The April 2008 parliamentary elections were held jointly with presidential polls. At stake were 80 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 45 in the Senate.

The National Republican Association-Colorado Party (ANR) had been the largest party since 1947 including during the dictatorship of General Alfred Stroessner from 1954 to 1989. In the previous elections held in April 2003 the ANR obtained its worst results since the country returned to democracy in 1989. Although its leader Nicanor Duarte Frutos was elected as the country's President the ANR failed to win a majority in either chamber taking 37 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 16 in the Senate.

The main opposition Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA) took 21 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 12 in the Senate. Another opposition party - the National Union of Ethical Citizens (UNACE) - founded by the exiled former army chief Lino Cesar Oviedo in 2000 - won ten and seven seats respectively. The remainder went to small parties. Mr. Oviedo returned to Paraguay in 2004 and was jailed for his alleged involvement in an earlier military uprising until September 2007 when a military court ordered his release. In October the Supreme Court exonerated him of all charges. In January 2008 he was nominated as the UNACE's candidate for the presidential elections.

President Duarte Frutos initially announced that he would seek to amend the Constitution to be able to run for the presidency again. Finally he endorsed the then Education Minister Ms. Blanca Ovelar. In December Ms. Ovelar won the ANR's nomination becoming the first-ever woman presidential candidate in the country. Her rival the then Vice-President Luis Castiglioni alleged fraud and insisted that his faction (Vanguardia Colorado) was the real ANR. The internal split reportedly weakened the ANR prior to the 2008 elections.

In December 2007 the opposition centre-left Patriotic Alliance for Change (APC) endorsed former Roman Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo as its presidential candidate. The APC comprised the PLRA the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) the Party for a Country of Solidarity (PPS) Mr. Lugo's Tekojoja (Equality) Popular Movement (MPT) several other small leftist parties as well as civil society organizations trade unions and small farmers' associations. Most APC candidates ran for elections under the banner of individual parties within the alliance.

Mr. Lugo known as the "bishop of the poor" pledged to tackle corruption and poverty. He also promised land reforms and stated his intention to renegotiate contracts for the Itaipu hydroelectric dam on the border between Brazil and Paraguay in order to develop Paraguay's economy. On 20 March 2008 former Paraguayan football star José Luis Chilavert announced that he would support Mr. Lugo arguing that he was the only candidate who could bring the change that the country needed.

Many analysts argued that the election of Ms. Ovelar would allow President Duarte Frutos to maintain control over the country's politics. Ms. Ovelar warned that Mr. Lugo would implement leftist policies similar to those in Bolivia and Venezuela.

Mr. Oviedo's UNACE advocated conservative policies on social issues. Like the APC it pledged to work for the poor in the country. About 60 per cent of the 6.6 million inhabitants reportedly live in poverty.

Thousands of Paraguayans living in Argentina returned to the country to vote. Many of them were reportedly supporters of Mr. Lugo's alliance. Over 65 per cent of the 2.9 million eligible voters turned out at the polls.

The elections went off in relative peace although some irregularities - such as late opening of some polling stations and claims of multiple voting - were reported.

International observers including a delegation from the Organization of American States (OAS) monitored the polls. The OAS praised the high turnout and declared that the polls were conducted in a climate of "total normality".

Though the ANR remained the largest party in both chambers its margin was significantly reduced. It took 30 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 15 seats in the Senate. The parties in the APC won a total of 31 and 17 seats respectively. The UNACE took 15 and nine seats respectively. In all ten women were elected to the Chamber of Deputies and seven to the Senate.

In the presidential elections Mr. Lugo (APC) was elected with over 42 per cent of the valid votes ending more than six decades of ANR rule.

On 1 July the newly elected Congress held its first session. The Chamber of Deputies elected Mr. Enrique Buzarquis Cáceres (PLRA) as its new Speaker while the Senate chose Mr. Enrique González Quintana (UNACE) as its new President.

On 15 August Mr. Lugo was sworn in as the country's President.
STATISTICS
Voter turnout
Round no 120 April 2008
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes
2'861'940
1'990'817 (69.56%)
118'257
1'872'560
Notes
Distribution of seats
Round no 1
Political Group Total
National Republican Association (ANR)-Colorado Party 15
Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA) 14
National Union of Ethical Citizens (UNACE) 9
Beloved Fatherland Movement ("Patria Querida" PPQ) 4
Party for a Country of Solidarity (PPS) 1
Democratic Progressive Party (PDP) 1
Popular Movement Tekojoja (MPT) 1
Distribution of seats according to sex
Men
Women
Percent of women
38
7
15.56%
Distribution of seats according to age
Distribution of seats according to profession
Comments
Source: http://www.tsje.gov.py/e2008/res_2008/senadores.html

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