Former Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo wins presidential election, ending 61
years of Colorado Party control in Paraguay.

ASUNCION, PARAGUAY (APRIL 20, 2008) REUTERS -

 A mild-mannered former Roman Catholic bishop won Paraguay's
presidential election on Sunday (April 20) to end more than 60 years of
one-party rule.
    Fernando Lugo had nearly 41 percent support, a lead of 10 percentage
points over ruling party candidate Blanca Ovelar, with results in from 88
percent of polling stations, the electoral court said.
    "May our country not only be remembered for its corruption, for
its poverty, but also for its honesty. May we be remembered for our honesty
and our effectiveness," 56-year-old Lugo said.
    "May we never again in the political class of Paraguay, never
again base our politics on clientism or enticements. Because it has done so
much damage to our national politics," he said.
    Tens of thousands of Lugo's supporters rallied in a central square in
the capital Asuncion.
    Firecrackers resounded throughout the city and caravans of cars and
trucks clogged the streets, honking their horns.
    Early in the evening, Lugo begun celebrating at home with a close group
of party supporters, friends and family.
    Lugo and his running mate Federico Franco pumped their fists before a
crowd of supporters at their party bunker.
    Ovelar, the first woman to run for president in Paraguay, conceded
defeat on Sunday night
    "We recognize our defeat at the presidency. We greet the Alianza
candidate and we foresee for Paraguay a time of reconciliation, of joint
construction of a destiny that Paraguay needs to affirm among all,"
Ovelar said.
    Lugo left his post as bishop three years ago, saying he felt powerless
to help Paraguay's poor. He launched his political career the following year
and led a center-left coalition at the presidential election, vowing to stamp
out corruption and ease inequalities.
    Lugo calls himself an independent and has steered clear of South
America's more radical left-wing leaders, such as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and
Evo Morales in Bolivia, but is seen as a likely ally of moderate leftist
presidents in the region.
    Some of his critics have tried to link him to criminals who kidnapped
and killed a former president's daughter, but Lugo has denied any connection
to the crime.
    Retired army General Lino Oviedo, who was freed from prison last year
after the Supreme Court overturned his sentence for plotting a coup in the
mid-1990s, trailed in third place in Sunday's election.
    The Colorado Party has dominated Paraguayan politics since it took
power in 1947, and it backed Gen. Alfredo Stroessner's brutal 35-year
dictatorship until helping to oust him in 1989.
    A landlocked country dwarfed by wealthier neighbors Argentina and
Brazil, Paraguay relies economically on agricultural and hydroelectric power
exports. But nearly four in every 10 Paraguayans are poor and many are tired
of widespread corruption.