The National Encounter Party is a political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

.

History

The National Encounter Movement was established on 26 October 1991. Prior to the 1993 elections

Paraguayan general election, 1993

General elections were held in Paraguay on 9 May 1993. In the first free elections with no military candidates since 1928, Juan Carlos Wasmosy of the Colorado Party won the presidential election, whilst the Colorado Party won a plurality of seats in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, but the...

 the National Encounter Party was established as a coalition of the Revolutionary Febrerista Party

Revolutionary Febrerista Party

The Revolutionary Febrerista Party is a democratic socialist party of Paraguay.-History:The party was established on 11 December 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina and was initially banned in Paraguay, which was under a Colorado Party regime at the time. The party was legalised in 1964 as it was no...

, the Christian Democratic Party

Christian Democratic Party (Paraguay)

-History:The party was established in the 1960s and was one of the parties that renounced violence as a means of toppling the Stroessner regime. However, the party did not contest a national election until Stroessner was overthrown in 1989. In the general elections later that year it received 1% of...

, Asuncion for All and a breakaway faction of the Colorado Party

Colorado Party (Paraguay)

The National Republican Association – Colorado Party is a political party in Paraguay, founded in 1887 by Bernardino Caballero. It is usually known as the Colorado Party...

. The elections saw the party receive 17.9% of the national vote, becoming the country's third largest party with nine seats in the Chamber of Deputies and eight in the Senate. Together with the Authentic Radical Liberal Party

Authentic Radical Liberal Party

The Authentic Radical Liberal Party is a liberal party in Paraguay.The party is an observer member of Liberal International. At the last legislative elections, 27 April 2003, the party won 25.7 % of the popular vote and 21 out of 80 seats in the Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay and 24.3 %, leading...

 (PLRA), it held a majority in the Chamber of Deputies opposed to the ruling Colorado Party

Colorado Party (Paraguay)

The National Republican Association – Colorado Party is a political party in Paraguay, founded in 1887 by Bernardino Caballero. It is usually known as the Colorado Party...

. Its candidate in the presidential election, Guillermo Caballero Vargas, received 24.1% of the vote.

For the 1998 general elections

Paraguayan general election, 1998

General elections were held in Paraguay on 10 May 1998. The presidential elections were won by Raúl Cubas Grau of the Colorado Party, who received 55.3% of the vote...

 the party formed an alliance with the PLRA named the Democratic Alliance. However, the PEN was reduced to eight seats in the Chamber and seven in the Senate as the Colorado Party regained their majority in both houses, and the alliance's presidential candidate, Domingo Laino

Domingo Laino

Domingo Isabelino Laino Figueredo is a Paraguayan politician, economist, and activist. The leader of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party, a Senator, and a former Member of the Chamber of Deputies, Laino first became known for his opposition to the Stroessner dictatorship: in 1956, he was arrested...

 finished second with 43.9% of the vote. By the 2003 elections

Paraguayan general election, 2003

General elections were held in Paraguay on 27 April 2003. The presidential elections were won by Nicanor Duarte of the Colorado Party, who received 38.3% of the vote. In the Congressional elections, the Colorado Party won 37 of the 80 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 16 of the 45 seats in the...

 support for the party had dwindled, and it won only one seat in the Senate and none in the Chamber of Deputies, whilst its presidential candidate, Diego Abente Brun received just 0.6% of the vote. For the 2008 elections

Paraguayan general election, 2008

The 2008 Paraguayan general election was held in Paraguay on April 20, 2008. This includes presidential, legislative, and local elections. The presidential election was won by opposition candidate Fernando Lugo of the Patriotic Alliance for Change, who defeated Blanca Ovelar of the long-ruling...

 the party joined the Patriotic Alliance for Change

Patriotic Alliance for Change

The Patriotic Alliance for Change is a center-left and left-wing Paraguayan political alliance consisting of eight parties in a governing coalition:*Radical Liberal Party*Febrerista Revolutionary Party*National Encounter Party...

, which won two seats in the Chamber.