ASUNCION, Paraguay - Centre-left candidate Fernando Lugo, a former Roman Catholic bishop, won a historic election on Sunday in Paraguay, according to both exit polls and preliminary official results, and his main rivals conceded defeat.
According to preliminary official results made public by Paraguayan electoral authorities - with about 80 per cent of the vote counted - the centre-left Lugo have more than 40 per cent of the vote, ahead of ruling-party candidate Blanca Ovelar with 31 per cent.
Ovelar's party, the conservative Partido Colorado, has ruled Paraguay for 61 years, including the 35-year dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner.
Results gave former military coup leader Lino Oviedo, who helped overthrow Stroessner in 1989, 22 per cent of the vote.
Both Ovelar and Oviedo conceded defeat.
'We are here to congratulate the people, and to understand that the way projections are moving forward the result is irreversible,' Ovelar told her compatriots in a televised address.
Exit polls issued by the daily ABC Digital put Lugo at 43 per cent to Ovelar's 37 per cent and Oviedo's 16 per cent.
Lugo spoke to supporters late Sunday but was cautious about claiming victory. He called on his followers to celebrate with moderation, and to avoid events that could cast a shadow over the day's joy.
The electoral commission reported high turnout, which observers had said was likely to favour Lugo.
According to Paraguayan election law, a plurality is enough for the winner of Sunday's election to succeed outgoing President Nicanor Duarte Frutos, with a five-year term.
'Thank you for accompanying us from the start, from that small and humble experience of listening to people. Today we can say that those who are small are also able to win,' Lugo told a crowd in Asuncion.
Later, he told reporters that the election opens 'a new page' in Paraguayan history.
'We are convinced that Paraguay has a right to better horizons. We have felt it in the pain, in the tears of so many mothers, the disenchantment of so many young people and the suffering of so many children,' Lugo said.
His jubilant supporters went into the streets to celebrate his victory, but no violence was reported.
Paraguayans went to the polls without major incidents Sunday amid some reports of fraud.
Election observers in Paraguay have accused the Partido Colorado, which has ruled since 1947, of election fraud in favour of its candidate, Ovelar, national media reported.
Lugo, 56, had led most pre-election surveys.
Polling stations opened at 7 am (1100 GMT) and closed about nine hours later.
Observers from the Organization of American States and the Paraguay section of the non-government organization Transparency said that people not on electoral rolls were allowed to vote, somes ballots were handed out with marks already made for the ruling party, personal IDs were 'bought,' and voters were escorted into voting booths by Colorado supporters.
The opposition and independent observers in the capital Asuncion in recent days had warned of possible fraud by the Partido Colorado.
Some 2.8 million Paraguayans were entitled to vote Sunday. In addition to the presidency, they voted on 45 new senators, 80 provincial legislators, 17 governors and 400 district councillors, as well as Paraguay's representatives in the regional parliament of the South American trade bloc Mercosur.
Voting is compulsory in Paraguay for people aged 18-75.
Paraguay's heavily agricultural economy is a large producer of soya and beef, commodities whose prices have sharply increased in recent years on world markets. The majority of Paraguayans live in poverty.
As neighbouring Argentina and Uruguay have enjoyed economic growth, Paraguay - a country of some 6.8 million people - continued to stagnate, leading many to migrate, particularly to Spain.
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