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

1 May 1989

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 % 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

Politics of Paraguay
Constitution Abortion law LGBT rights
Executive President Mario Abdo Benítez Vice President Hugo Velázquez Moreno Cabinet
Legislature National Congress Chamber of Senators President Chamber of Deputies President
Administrative divisions Departments Districts
Elections Recent elections General: 2013 2018 2023 Political parties
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs Minister: Federico González Franco Diplomatic missions of / in Paraguay Nationality law Passport Visa requirements Visa policy
Paraguay portal Other countries

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.