Former Roman Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo won Paraguay’s presidential election, ending more than six decades of one-party rule by the Colorado Party (CP). His victory is historic in the country, as CP held power even longer than the communist regimes of Cuba, North Korea and China.

“The humble citizens are the ones responsible for this change,” Lugo said at a news conference. “Paraguayans have taken a great step toward civic maturity. . . . We have opened a new page in this nation's political history,” he added.

With about 13,000 of 14,000 balloting stations counted, Lugo has 41 percent of the vote while his main rival, Blanca Ovelar (a 50-year-old protégé of President Nicanor Duarte) of the CP, has 31 percent. Former army chief Lino Oviedo earned 22 percent, BBC News reports. Lugo's election is a sign of “deep and irreversible ... changes sweeping Latin America,” according to Mark Weisbrot, from the Washington think tank Center for Economic and Policy Research.

The ex-bishop gathered leftist unions, indigenous people and pour farmers into a coalition to form the centre-left Patriotic Alliance for Change. It appears that many people depict him as the “bishop for the poor” and analysts say Lugo is an untested newcomer to politics,” known for his advocacy of land reform and demands regarding the renegotiation of an energy treaty with Paraguay’s neighbor Brazil. Analysts also warn that the CP’s legacy of corruption remains etched deeply into Paraguayan society.

Lugo, who quit the church 18 months ago in order to enter politics, is due to begin a five-year term of office on August 15. The former bishop would face many challenges, as  43 percent of the country’s 6.5 million people live in poverty, illiteracy is high, 300,000 landless peasant farmers are clamoring for help and Paraguay's corruption is notorious, the Associated Press reports.