Paraguay to elect new president
Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:30:00
More than two million Paraguayans will head to the polls Sunday to elect a new president which could end ruling of the Colorado Party.
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Fernando Lugo | More than two million Paraguayans will head to the polls Sunday to elect a new president which could end ruling of the Colorado Party.
The leading candidates in the presidential race are Fernando Lugo, a self-described independent backed by the Patriotic Alliance for Change; Blanca Ovelar of the Colorado Party; and Lino Oviedo, who is backed by the National Union of Ethical Citizens.
According to a poll published early this month in the Asuncion-based newspaper La Nacion, Lugo held a 36.8 percent support, compared with 26.4 percent for Ovelar and 24.3 percent for Oviedo.
Lugo has emphasized the need for ending the Colorado Party's rule saying, "I believe that the politics of exclusion long practiced in this country doesn't have a future."
He has also called for the renegotiation of Paraguay's hydroelectricity agreements with Brazil and Argentina, claiming that the poverty-stricken country is losing money.
Paraguay, which is a country of nearly seven million people located between Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil, is among the poorest countries in South America.
Polls open at 7 a.m. ET and close at 4 p.m. ET with preliminary results expected later in the night with the new president taking office in August.
NA/BGH
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