EXPLAINER-Paraguay election: when is it and what are the main issues?

The two candidates leading opinion polls are Santiago Pena, a 44-year-old economist who represents the ruling Colorado Party, and Efrain Alegre, a 60-year-old lawyer who leads the center-left opposition coalition. Current President Mario Abdo is not eligible for reelection.

Paraguay will hold general elections on April 30, with the ruling conservative Colorado Party facing a challenge from a broad center-left coalition. Here's what it's all about.

WHEN AND WHERE? Voting takes place on Sunday from 7am (1100 GMT) to 4pm (2000 GMT). Preliminary results are expected from around 7pm (2300 GMT) from the electoral tribunal.

Voting is compulsory for roughly 4.7 million registered voters aged 18-75. Paraguayans living abroad are eligible to vote, though a complex process means many are not registered. WHAT'S BEING VOTED FOR?

The vote will include all 80 lower chamber Deputies seats and the full 45 Senate seats, as well as 17 governors and 257 state assembly positions. Paraguayans will also vote for a new president in a single-round winner-takes-all system to take on a five-year term starting Aug. 15.

WHO ARE THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES? The two candidates leading opinion polls are Santiago Pena, a 44-year-old economist who represents the ruling Colorado Party, and Efrain Alegre, a 60-year-old lawyer who leads the center-left opposition coalition.

Current President Mario Abdo is not eligible for reelection. There are 13 presidential candidates in total, but all others are well behind in the polls. They include Paraguayo Cubas, a self-proclaimed anarchist, Euclides Acevedo, a former minister, and ex-national soccer team goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert.

WHAT'S AT STAKE? The contest could be pivotal for Paraguay's foreign policy. Alegre favors shifting diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China to open up China's huge market to domestically-produced soy and beef. Pena has pledged to maintain Taiwan relations.

Paraguay is one of the world's top soy exporters and a major supplier of beef, but cannot currently sell directly to China because of its diplomatic recognition of Taiwan that goes back over 60 years. Pena has proposed the creation of 500,000 new jobs within the next five years, and pledged to bring inflation under control and boost law and order.

Alegre wants to implement a new energy policy to lower electricity prices, and has pledged to crack down on state corruption and overspend. WHO WILL WIN?

Opinion polls are mixed and not much trusted. Pollster Atlas-Intel gave Alegre a narrow lead in early April, while Grau y Asociados placed Pena ahead by 16 points. If Alegre were to win it would be a rare defeat for the Colorado Party, which has ruled Paraguay in some form over the past 70 years, except for a short hiatus during the administration of Fernando Lugo from 2008.

Analysts say internal disputes within the Colorado Party and U.S. corruption allegations against Pena's political mentor, former President Horacio Cartes, the party chief, could weigh on his chances and play in favor of the opposition.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)