1993 Paraguayan general election

{{Short description|none}}

{{Infobox election

| election_name = 1993 Paraguayan general election

| country = Paraguay

| previous_election = 1991 Paraguayan Constitutional Assembly election

| previous_year = 1991

| election_date = 9 May 1993

| next_election = 1998 Paraguayan general election

| next_year = 1998

| opinion_polls =

| module = {{Infobox election

| embed = yes

| election_name = Presidential election

| image_size = 130x130px

| turnout = 69.46%

| candidate1 = Juan Carlos Wasmosy

| image1 = Medalha de Galiza 1995 - c1 (cropped).jpg

| party1 = Colorado Party (Paraguay)

| popular_vote1 = 449,505

| percentage1 = 41.78%

| candidate2 = Domingo Laíno

| image2 = Domingo_Laíno_(cropped).jpg

| colour2 =

| party2 = Authentic Radical Liberal Party

| popular_vote2 = 357,164

| percentage2 = 33.20%

| candidate3 = Guillermo Caballero Vargas

| image3 = 3x4.svg

| party3 = National Encounter Party

| popular_vote3 = 262,407

| percentage3 = 24.39%

| title = President

| before_election = Andrés Rodríguez

| before_party = Colorado Party (Paraguay)

| posttitle = President-elect

| after_election = Juan Carlos Wasmosy

| after_party = Colorado Party (Paraguay)

| map_image = Resultados de las elecciones presidenciales de Paraguay de 1993.svg

| map_caption = Results by department

| module = {{Infobox legislative election

| embed = yes

| election_name = Chamber of Deputies

| seats_for_election = All 80 seats in the Chamber of Deputies

| majority_seats = 41

| leader1 = Juan Carlos Wasmosy

| party1 = Colorado Party (Paraguay)

| percentage1 = 43.41

| last_election1 = 48

| seats1 = 38

| leader2 = Domingo Laíno

| colour2 =

| party2 = Authentic Radical Liberal Party

| percentage2 = 36.82

| last_election2 = 21

| seats2 = 33

| leader3 = Guillermo Caballero Vargas

| party3 = National Encounter Party

| percentage3 = 17.70

| last_election3 = new

| seats3 = 9

| module = {{Infobox legislative election

| embed = yes

| election_name = Senate

| seats_for_election = All 45 seats in the Senate

| majority_seats = 23

| noleader = yes

| party1 = Colorado Party (Paraguay)

| percentage1 = 44.05

| last_election1 = 20

| seats1 = 20

| party5 = Authentic Radical Liberal Party

| percentage5 = 36.20

| last_election5 = new

| seats5 = 17

| party6 = National Encounter Party

| percentage6 = 17.95

| last_election6 = new

| seats6 = 8

}}}}}}}}{{Politics of Paraguay}}

General elections were held in Paraguay on 9 May 1993.Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II, p425 {{ISBN|978-0-19-928358-3}} They were the first free elections in the country's 182-year history,{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/11/world/governing-party-wins-paraguay-presidential-vote.html|title=Governing Party Wins Paraguay Presidential Vote|author1=James Brooke|work=The New York Times|date=April 11, 1993}}{{Disputed inline|First free elections|date=August 2024}} the first with no military candidates since 1928,Nohlen, p420 and the first since the adoption of a new constitution the previous summer. The presidential election was the first regular presidential election since the overthrow of longtime leader Alfredo Stroessner in 1989. The 1989 coup's leader, Andrés Rodríguez, was in office by virtue of winning a special election for the remainder of Stroessner's eighth term.

Rodríguez had promised not to run for a full term, and was prevented from doing so by the new constitution, which limited the president to a single five-year term. The term limit applied even if a president had only served a partial term.{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/06/20/Paraguay-celebrates-new-constitution/5182709012800/|title=Paraguay celebrates new constitution|author1=Cesar Insfran|publisher=United Press International|date=June 20, 1992}}

Juan Carlos Wasmosy of the Colorado Party won the presidential election with 41.8 percent of the vote. He took office on 15 August, becoming the first civilian to hold the post in 39 years.

The Colorado Party remained the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, but lost the absolute majority it had held since 1963. The opposition Authentic Radical Liberal Party and National Encounter Party together held a majority of the seats in both chambers, later supplemented by the Colorado Reconciliation Movement, which broke away from the Colorado Party.Nohlen, p417 Voter turnout was 69% in the presidential and Senate elections and 68% in the Chamber elections.Nohlen, pp426-432