1989 Paraguayan general election

Early general elections were held in Paraguay on 1 May 1989 to elect the president and Chamber of Deputies.^[1] They were the first held since longtime president Alfredo Stroessner was toppled in a military coup on 3 February, seven months after being sworn in for an eighth term. For the first time in several years, the opposition was allowed to contest the elections more or less unmolested; the Communists were the only party that was banned from taking part.^[2][3]

1989 Paraguayan general election

← 1988 1 May 1989 1991 →

Presidential election

Candidate Andrés Rodríguez Domingo Laíno Party Colorado PLRA Popular vote 882,957 241,829 Percentage 76.59% 20.98%

Results by department

President before election Andrés Rodríguez Colorado President-elect Andrés Rodríguez Colorado

Parliamentary election

All 72 seats in the Chamber of Deputies 37 seats needed for a majority

Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– Colorado Andrés Rodríguez 74.47 48 +8 PLRA Domingo Laíno 20.19 21 New PRF Fernando Sánchez 2.10 2 New Radical Liberal 1.32 1 −12 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

Andrés Rodríguez, who had led the coup and had been serving as provisional president since then, was elected president in his own right^[3][2] running on the Colorado Party ticket. The Colorado Party also won 48 of the 72 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Voter turnout was 52%.

The legislative elections were called after Rodríguez dissolved the previous Congress in February, citing a provision of the constitution that allowed the president to do so if they felt Congress had acted in a manner that distorted the separation of powers. Rodríguez used the new elections as a tool to purge pro-Stroessner "militants" from the Colorado caucus. The presidential elections were held because the constitution required new elections if a president died, resigned, or was permanently disabled less than two years into their term. That same provision stipulated that the winner would not serve a full five-year term, but only the remainder of the previous president's term.^[3] In this case, Rodríguez won the right to serve the remainder of Stroessner's term, which was due to end in 1993.

Results

President

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Andrés Rodríguez	Colorado Party	882,957	76.59
	Domingo Laíno	Authentic Radical Liberal Party	241,829	20.98
	Fernando Vera Sánchez [es]	Revolutionary Febrerista Party	11,007	0.95
	Secundino Núñez Medina	Christian Democratic Party	8,032	0.70
	Carlos Ferreira Ibarra	Liberal Party	4,423	0.38
	Blas Manuel Mangabeira	Unified Radical Liberal Party	3,545	0.31
	Carlos Gustavo Callizo Parini	Paraguayan Humanist Party	1,058	0.09
Total			1,152,851	100.00
Valid votes			1,152,851	99.04
Invalid/blank votes			11,197	0.96
Total votes			1,164,048	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			2,226,061	52.29
Source: Justicia Electoral

Chamber of Deputies

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Colorado Party	845,820	74.47	48	+8
	Authentic Radical Liberal Party	229,329	20.19	21	New
	Revolutionary Febrerista Party	23,815	2.10	2	New
	Radical Liberal Party	15,083	1.33	1	–12
	Christian Democratic Party	11,674	1.03	0	New
	Liberal Party	5,544	0.49	0	–7
	Unified Radical Liberal Party	3,476	0.31	0	New
	Paraguayan Humanist Party	1,069	0.09	0	New
Total		1,135,810	100.00	72	+12
Valid votes		1,135,810	98.10
Invalid/blank votes		21,971	1.90
Total votes		1,157,781	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		2,226,061	52.01
Source: Nohlen

References

1. Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II, p425 ISBN 978-0-19-928358-3
2. Nohlen, p416
3. History Library of Congress Country Studies