Paraguay’s business-friendly Colorado Party keeps presidency

ASUNCION,  (Reuters) – The candidate from Paraguay’s ruling Colorado Party won yesterday’s presidential election, according to official results with 96 percent of ballots counted, pointing to another five years of pro-business policies in the major soy producer.

The country’s elections authority said Mario Abdo, a 46-year-old former senator who campaigned on an anti-corruption platform, had an “irreversible” advantage over his main rival, Efrain Alegre, a lawyer from the center-left GANAR coalition.

“My administration will be committed to gaining the confidence of those who did not accompany us,” Abdo said in his acceptance speech.