Polling stations in Uruguay have closed in a presidential election race that has defied the regional trend of tectonic political shifts, with pollsters predicting a likely run-off next month between a leftist history teacher and a centre-right veterinarian.
Yamandu Orsi, a former history teacher and local mayor who represents the centre-left Frente Amplio party, and Alvaro Delgado of the centre-right Partido Nacional will face off in the November 24 election run-off, forecasts showed.
Orsi, 57, won 43.2 percent of the vote, ahead of Delgado, 55, with 28 percent, according to estimates by Equipos Consultores.
Andres Ojeda, 40, a muscular and media-savvy lawyer who has likened himself to Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei, placed third on 15.5-16 percent, projections showed.
Pre-election polling had suggested that no candidate would get more than 50 percent of the vote.
The country of 3.4 million also voted on referendums to lower the retirement age by five years to 60 and remove curbs on police carrying out nighttime raids on private homes.
Uruguayans appeared to reject both referendums, early exit polls showed.
The vote marked a break with the sharp right-left divides seen in other Latin American countries, including Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, with the main candidates overlapping significantly on policy.
Uruguay’s electorate has been relatively pleased with the government’s performance, with President Luis Lacalle Pou of Partido Nacional enjoying a 50 percent approval rating.
The ruling conservative coalition, however, has struggled to defend its record on crime, despite presiding over rising employment and wages.
Voters have listed violent crime, much of it linked to drug trafficking, as a key concern in the Latin American country, which has one of the highest gross domestic products (GDPs) per capita in the region.
Lacalle Pou, 51, was barred from running for a second consecutive term under the constitution.
A victory for Orsi, who is viewed as an understudy of former rebel-turned-president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, would see Uruguay swing to the left after five years of conservative rule.
Mujica, who is 89 and battling cancer, joined the campaign trail despite his frailty, showing up in a wheelchair to cast his ballot in Montevideo.