General elections were held in

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

on 14 February 1988. Dieter Nohlen (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II'', p425

Alfredo Stroessner Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda (; 3 November 1912 – 16 August 2006) was a Paraguayan army officer and politician who served as President of Paraguay from 15 August 1954 to 3 February 1989. Stroessner led a coup d'état on 4 May 1954 with t ...

of the Colorado Party won the presidential elections, whilst the Colorado Party won 20 of the 30 seats in the Senate and 40 of the 60 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Voter turnout was 92.2%.Nohlen, p426 These were the first elections held since Stroessner nominally lifted a state of siege in 1987. The state of siege had been in force since he took office in 1954. Despite this, the elections took place in an atmosphere that was little different from past elections during Stroessner's 34-year rule. Opposition leaders were arbitrarily arrested, and opposition meetings and demonstrations were broken up—often brutally. The Colorados were the only party allowed to campaign unhindered. By election day, the only independent media outlets that hadn't been shut down were those operated by the Catholic Church. Under these conditions, most opposition parties urged their supporters to either cast blank ballots or abstain from voting altogether. As it turned out, these were the last elections under Stroessner, who had won every election since 1954 with more than 70% of the vote. In February 1989, seven months after being sworn in for his eighth term, he was overthrown in a

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

.Nohlen, p416 Fresh elections were held in May 1989, the first time the opposition had been able to contest elections more or less unmolested for over thirty years.

Results

References

1988 in Paraguay Elections in Paraguay Presidential elections in Paraguay Alfredo Stroessner February 1988 events in South America {{Paraguay-election-stub