Santiago Pena Becomes Paraguay’s New President
Santiago Pena Wins Paraguay’s Presidential Race with 43.15 Percent of the Votes
Santiago Pena, the candidate of the ruling Colorado Party in Paraguay, has won the country’s presidential race with 43.15 percent of the votes, according to the election board’s statement. While 96 percent of the votes were counted, the results still remain uncertain. The left-wing coalition’s candidate, Efrain Alegre, received 27.51 percent of the votes, while the right-wing populist candidate, Paraguayo Cubas, finished the race with 21.62 percent of the votes.
Pena, who also won a large majority in the Senate, was reported to have been successful in 14 of the 17 governorships. In his victory speech in the capital Asunsion, Pena addressed his supporters and invited them to unite to achieve the nation’s collective prosperity and common happiness. He stated that it is time to set aside their differences and prioritize the common causes that unite them as a nation.
Current President Mario Abdo Benitez congratulated the people of Paraguay and Santiago Pena in a statement. He promised to ensure an orderly and transparent transition to strengthen the country’s institutions and democracy.
More than 4 million voters in Paraguay participated in the presidential election, which also included the election of the vice president, the 45-member Senate, the 80-member House of Representatives, and the governor of 17 districts.
The Colorado Party has been in power in Paraguay since the mid-20th century, except for a few terms. Pena previously served as the economy minister to former President Horacio Cartes from 2013 to 2018.
