Around 2.3 million Uruguayans went to the polls this Sunday to vote on two issues: who will be the country’s next president and, in a plebiscite, whether they agree to expand the national pension system, with an estimated annual cost of US$22.5 billion.
The presidential elections
Official results from Uruguay’s presidential election show that center-left candidate Yamandu Orsi will face conservative Álvaro Delgado in a second round next month, as no candidate secured the majority needed to win.
With 99.92% of the votes counted, Orsi received 46.2% support. Delgado secured 28.2%, while Andrés Ojeda, a young, social media-savvy conservative, had 16.9%. With an eye on the second round – which will be held on November 24 – Ojeda committed to supporting Delgado in order to prevent a victory for the left.
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The Uruguayan contest between two centrist candidates goes against a Latin American trend of sharp divisions between right and left, with significant overlap between the main conservative and liberal coalitions.
The nation of 3.4 million people, known for its beaches, legal marijuana and stability, also voted Sunday for its next vice president and members of Parliament.
The plebiscites
Vote counting was also underway for two mandatory plebiscites – one on a pension reform that would reduce the retirement age by five years to 60, and another that would increase police powers to combat drug-related crime. Both failed to reach more than half the voters’ support and were rejected.
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The rejection of the US$22.5 billion annual pension expansion allays the fears of investors and politicians that the reform could harm the economy. According to official results, 61% of eligible voters rejected the proposal, compared to 39% who voted in favor.
The security referendum also failed, with less than 40% support.
Result
As polling stations closed on Sunday, hundreds of Frente Amplio supporters gathered in the historically center-left capital Montevideo on a stage overlooking the city’s waterfront to await the results.
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“We are the party that grew the most in this election,” Orsi said, addressing the crowd on stage. “In these next 27 days, we will give the last push, with more desire than ever”, he added.
The conservative coalition in power is struggling to defend its security record, but hopes that successes in the economy – with employment and real wages rising – could be enough to convince voters in a second round to choose continuity over of change.
“I am convinced that all the work we have done and what we stand for will be successful,” Delgado said Sunday.
