23.04.201813:08:00UTC+00PARAGUAY: Mario 'Marito' Abdo Benitez Wins Presidential Election

The candidate of the Colorado Party, Mario "Marito" Abdo Benitez, won the presidential elections in Paraguay with 46.44% of the votes, said the South American country's electoral council.

Abdo Benitez prevailed against his main contender, Efrain Alegre, the candidate of the GANAR coalition, which obtained 42.79% after 99.65% of the polling stations counted so far.

Abdo Benitez is a son of Mario Abdo Benitez, a former official of the 35-year Alfredo Stroessner dictatorship.

After the vote, Abdo Benitez said that he would keep the current economic model, opening the country to foreign investments and benefiting the local agribusiness sector. Paraguay is currently the world's fourth largest soybean exporter.

The Colorado Party ruled Paraguay for seven decades until 2008, interrupted by Fernando Lugo's election. Lugo was deposed by the Senate in 2012.

Paraguayans living abroad were able to vote in four countries: Argentina, Brazil, Spain and the United States.