Santiago Peña of Paraguay's ruling conservative Colorado Party wins presidential election

Santiago Peña of Paraguay's ruling conservative Colorado Party has won the presidential election, beating a centre-left challenger. The electoral officials say, with almost all ballots counted, Mr Peña, an economist, got more than 42 per cent votes. Efraín Alegre, the candidate of the Concertación Nacional coalition, had nearly 28 per cent. He later admitted defeat. The Colorado Party has dominated the political scene in the



landlocked South American nation for more than 70 years. 

Sunday's presidential poll was decided in a single round of voting. Addressing his supporters, Mr Peña, 44, called for nationwide unity and consensus. Paraguay's economy is expected to grow by more than 4 per cent this year, but the country has relatively high levels of poverty and corruption.