Uruguay election: Polls close with ruling coalition and opposition headed for photo finish

Uruguayans on Sunday voted in the second round of the country’s presidential election, with the conservative governing party and the left-leaning coalition locked in a close run-off after failing to win an outright majority in last month’s vote.

The closing of polls started a countdown to the announcement of official results as independent polling firms were preparing to release so-called quick counts.

Depending on how tight the vote turns out to be, electoral officials may not call the race for days — as happened in the contentious 2019 run-off that brought centre-right President Luis Lacalle Pou to office and ended 15 years of rule by Uruguay’s left-leaning Broad Front.

Uruguay’s staid election has turned into a hard-fought race between Álvaro Delgado, the incumbent party’s candidate who won 27 per cent in the first round of voting on October 27, and Yamandú Orsi from the Broad Front, who took 44 per cent of the vote in the first round.

But other conservative parties that make up the government coalition — in particular, the Colorado Party — notched 20 per cent of the vote collectively, enough to give Delgado an edge over his challenger.

Congress ended up evenly split in the October vote. Most polls have shown a virtual tie between Delgado and Orsi, with nearly 10 per cent of Uruguayan voters undecided even at this late stage. Many said they believed turnout would be low if voting weren’t compulsory in the country.

“Neither candidate convinced me and I feel that there are many in my same situation,” said Vanesa Gelezoglo, 31, in the capital, Montevideo, adding she would make up her mind at “the last minute.”

Analysts say the candidates’ lacklustre campaigns and broad consensus on key issues have generated extraordinary indecision and apathy in an election dominated by discussions about social spending and concerns over income inequality but largely free of the anti-establishment rage that has vaulted populist outsiders to power elsewhere.

“The question of whether Frente Amplio (the Broad Front) raises taxes is not an existential question, unlike what we saw in the US with Trump and Kamala framing each other as threats to democracy,” said Nicolás Saldías, a Latin America and Caribbean senior analyst for the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit. “That doesn’t exist in Uruguay.”

Both candidates are also appealing to voter angst over a surge in violent crime that has shaken a nation long regarded as one of the region’s safest, with Delgado promising tough-on-crime policies and Orsi advocating a more community-oriented approach.

Delgado, 55, a rural veterinarian with a long career in the National Party, campaigned on a vow to continue the legacy of current President Lacalle Pou — in some ways making the election into a referendum on his leadership. He campaigned under the slogan “re-elect a good government.”’

While a string of corruption scandals rattled Lacalle Pou’s government last year, the president — who constitutionally cannot run for a second consecutive term — now enjoys high approval ratings and a strong economy expected to grow 3.2 per cent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. Inflation has also eased in recent months, boosting his coalition.

Delgado served most recently as Secretary of the Presidency for Lacalle Pou and promises to pursue his predecessor’s pro-business policies. He would continue pushing for a trade deal with China that has raised hackles in Mercosur, an alliance of South American countries promoting regional commerce.

“We have to give the government coalition a chance to consolidate its proposals,” said Ramiro Pérez, a street vendor voting for Delgado on Sunday.

Orsi, 57, a former history teacher and two-time mayor from a working-class background, is widely seen as the political heir to iconic former President José “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-Marxist guerilla who raised Uruguay’s international profile as one of the region’s most socially liberal and environmentally sustainable nations during his 2010-2015 term.

His Broad Front coalition oversaw the legalisation of abortion, same-sex marriage and the sale of marijuana in the small South American nation of 3.4 million people.

“He’s my candidate, not only for my sake but also for my children’s,” Yeny Varone, a nurse, said of Orsi. “In the future they’ll have better working conditions, health and salaries.”

Mujica, now 89 and recovering from esophageal cancer, was among the first to cast his ballot after polls opened.

“Uruguay is a small country, but it has earned recognition for being stable, for having a citizenry that respects institutional formalities,” he told reporters from his local polling station. “This is no small feat.”

While promising to forge a “new left” in Uruguay, Orsi plans no dramatic changes. He proposes tax incentives to lure investment and social security reforms that would lower the retirement age but fall short of a radical overhaul sought by Uruguay’s unions.

The contentious plebiscite on whether to boost pension payouts failed to pass in October, with Uruguayans rejecting generous pensions in favor of fiscal constraint.

Both candidates pledged full cooperation with each other if elected.

“I want (Orsi) to know that my idea is to form a government of national unity,” Delgado told reporters after casting his vote in the capital’s upscale Pocitos neighbourhood. He said that if he won, he and Orsi would chat on Monday over some yerba mate, the traditional herbal drink beloved by Uruguayans.

Orsi similarly pledged a smooth and respectful transition of power, describing Sunday’s democratic exercise as “an incredible experience” as he voted in Canelones, the sprawling town of beaches and cattle ranches just north of Montevideo where he served as mayor for a decade.

“The essence of politics is agreements,” he said. “You never end up completely satisfied.”