Blanca Ovelar

Blanca Margarita Ovelar de Duarte (born Birth date and age|1957|09|02) is a Paraguayan politician and former Minister of Education. She was the Colorado Party's nominee for president in the April 2008 presidential election, in which she was defeated.

Ovelar was backed for the Colorado Party nomination by President Nicanor Duarte. Initial results showed Ovelar narrowly defeating her rival for the nomination, former Vice President Luis Castiglioni, in the party's primary, held in December 2007; [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/17/america/LA-POL-Paraguay-Election.php "Woman leads Paraguay ruling party's presidential primary"] , Associated Press ("International Herald Tribune"), December 17, 2007.] however, the result was disputed, leading to a recount. [ [http://www.chinapost.com.tw/news/2008/01/14/139039/Once-jailed-Paraguayan.htm "Once-jailed Paraguayan army chief nominated for opposition run for president"] , Associated Press ("The China Post"), January 14, 2008.] On January 21, 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. [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/01/22/news/Paraguay-Presidential-Race.php "Paraguay nominates first woman for president, ruling party schism threatens bid"] , Associated Press ("International Herald Tribune"), January 22, 2008.]

She is the first woman to run for president in Paraguay, and would have been Paraguay's first female president if elected. Opposition candidate Fernando Lugo won the election, held on April 20 2008, thereby ousting the Colorado Party after 61 years of continuous rule. Ovelar conceded the race to Lugo that very night at about 9 PM local time.

References

External links

* [http://www.blancaovelar.com/ Campaign website]
* [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080421/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/paraguay_election Lugo Wins Election at AP via Yahoo News]