Uruguayans Go to the Polls to Elect Their President
Former Uruguayan president Pepe Mujica casts his vote, Oct. 27, 2024, X/ @elDiarioAR
October 27, 2024 Hour: 11:12 am
Voters will also weigh in on two referendums: one on social security and another on nighttime searches.
On Sunday, 2.7 million Uruguayans are expected to participate in the presidential and parliamentary elections. Voters are expected to be able to vote until 7:30 p.m. local time, although the hours may be extended if people are still lining up at polling centers.
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Eleven candidates are vying to succeed the current president, Luis Lacalle Pou, who is constitutionally barred from a consecutive term.
The latest opinion polls indicate that the leftist candidate from the Broad Front (Frente Amplio, FA), Yamandú Orsi, leads in voting intention with 41 percent. In second place is the ruling National Party’s candidate, Álvaro Delgado, with 20 percent, followed by the Colorado Party’s presidential candidate, Andrés Ojeda, with 15 percent.
It is expected that none of the candidates will surpass 50 percent of the votes, meaning the two most-voted candidates will advance to a runoff, scheduled for Sunday, November 24.
In addition to electing the future president and renewing the Parliament, voters will also weigh in on two referendums: one on social security and another on nighttime searches.
The first referendum, promoted by the PIT-CNT union center with support from Broad Front sectors, proposes lowering the minimum retirement age from 65 to 60 and banning private pension plans. The second referendum seeks to authorize nighttime searches, currently prohibited by Article 11 of the Uruguayan Constitution.
On Sunday morning, former president Jose Mujica, who due to his age must use a wheelchair, went to vote at School No. 149 in Cerro.
teleSUR/ JF Source: teleSUR – El Pais
