The following candidates ran for president: •
Fernando Lugo,
Patriotic Alliance for Change (APC) •
Lino Oviedo,
National Union of Ethical Citizens (UNACE) •
Blanca Ovelar,
Colorado Party (ANR-PC) • ,
Beloved Fatherland Party (PPQ) The incumbent president,
Nicanor Duarte Frutos, was barred by the Constitution from running for reelection and instead supported his education secretary, Blanca Ovelar. Initial results in the Colorado Party's December 2007 primary showed Ovelar defeating former Vice President
Luis Castiglioni, but the result was disputed, leading to a recount. On 21 January 2008, the Colorado Party electoral commission announced that Ovelar had won with 45.04% of the vote against 44.5% for Castiglioni, although Castiglioni continued to claim victory, alleging that 30,000 votes in his favor were "stolen", and said that he would take the matter to court. Ovelar said that her campaign would shift its focus from the "cruel primary campaign" to the general election and that her platform prioritized "fight against poverty and to the creation of jobs". Lugo is a former bishop who resigned from the priesthood in December 2006 in preparation for his presidential bid. As a priest, he required a permit from the Vatican to become directly involved in politics prior to 2006. However, the Paraguayan constitution prohibits ministers of any faith from standing as a political candidate. Despite his resignation, the Vatican regards priesthood as a lifelong commitment but has suspended him from his duties. As bishop of San Pedro, a poor region, for ten years beginning in 1994, his support for landless peasants earned him a reputation as "the bishop of the poor". According to Lugo, he believes "in the people's self-determination and in recovering sovereignty and independence". Lugo is backed by the
Patriotic Alliance for Change (APC), which includes both left and right wing groups, notably the conservative
Authentic Radical Liberal Party. President Duarte caused controversy just before the election by telling the
Ultima Hora newspaper that Lugo "probably sells himself" for money from Venezuela,
Bolivia, and
Ecuador. Ovelar, the Colorado candidate, said that she knew "what the people need and what has to be done". She said that she would focus on job creation and the strengthening of agricultural cooperatives, hoping to reduce the number of Paraguayans who emigrate for economic reasons. In January 2008 he was nominated as the candidate of his party, the National Union of Ethical Citizens, without opposition. Ovelar held her last campaign rally in
Asunción on 16 April. Along with Oviedo and Fadul, she participated in a last televised debate in the early afternoon of 17 April; Lugo did not participate, and Ovelar criticized him for this. Lugo held his last rally in Asunción later that night, with about 15,000 supporters present. ==Opinion polls==