Voting centers closed in Uruguay and electoral authorities began counting votes on Sunday in a national election that could mark the return of the left to power after five years, with a campaign characterized by moderation.
The left-wing coalition Frente Amplio, favorite in the polls and headed by Yamandú Orsi, sought to recover at the polls the hegemony that kept it in control of the country between 2005 and 2020, while the National Party, represented by Álvaro Delgado, hoped to maintain the continuity of his legacy encouraged by the charisma of the outgoing president, Luis Lacalle Pou.
In Photos | Voters in Uruguay choose president between two centrists
Uruguay holds a remarkably civil general election on Sunday that pits a conservative coalition in power against a leftist alliance in a country free of the political histrionics of other presidential contests around the world.
In an election characterized by an unusual apathy of the electorate, voting day passed calmly and without notable incidents. According to the Electoral Court, the results of the contest will be announced on Sunday night.
The Colorado Party also had hopes of reaching, at least, an eventual second round, thanks to an intense and atypical campaign by its standard-bearer Andrés Ojeda, a “pragmatic” candidate who presents himself as the face of the “new politics.”
With just over an hour and a half left until the closing of the voting centers, almost 77% of the voters had already voted on the day, which passed without major incidents, the Electoral Court reported. The polls will close at 7:30 p.m. local time (22:30 GMT) and, one hour later, the authority will receive the first results.
Former president José “Pepe” Mujica was one of the first to vote. The former president arrived at a school in the Cerro neighborhood of the Uruguayan capital in a wheelchair and helped by some collaborators.
In statements to journalists, Mujica, one of the historical leaders of the traditional leftist bloc Frente Amplio, regretted that the campaign for these elections was “a little distracted” and reaffirmed his commitment to democracy.
“We have to support democracy, not because it is perfect, but because until now humans have not invented anything better,” he said.
He also recognized the apathy that dominated during the campaign and said that winning the interest of the youngest voters is a challenge that the political class will have to face. “If the young people don’t catch on, we’re screwed, if they don’t catch on, it’s because we don’t make them fall in love, it’s because we suck, if there are proposals that make them fall in love, the gurises (boys) are going to be there.”
“After five crises and how we got out of this crisis, there is no way not to vote for Delgado. He was also Chief of Staff and is the continuity of Luis” Lacalle Pou, said the medical student, Catalina Lima.
“They (the ruling party) had their chance and it didn’t work out. Now is the time to come back and come back stronger,” said Professor Federico Morales.
Experts attributed this low adhesion and popular mobilization to the fact that citizens do not consider that this will be an electoral cycle with “fundamental changes,” since the projects of the two main contenders have similarities and coincide in having their central axes in improving the country’s competitiveness. , narrow economic gaps and reduce the rate of child poverty.
“It has been a campaign far from the people, which did not achieve the levels of mobilization that Uruguay has historically, where party membership is among the highest in Latin America,” political analyst Julián Kanarek told The Associated Press.
The two main contenders voted early in the morning. Orsi cast his vote at a technical school in Canelones, his political stronghold located about 50 kilometers from Montevideo, and asked citizens to celebrate this election day “as a party, not as a war.”
Delgado, for his part, went with his family to the Banco República Club, located in the Pocitos neighborhood of the Uruguayan capital, to vote and said he felt “excited and confident” that people “will vote for continuity,” while he thanked the militancy, “especially among young people.”
Likewise in the morning the outgoing president Lacalle Pou voted, who stated that “today the protagonists are others” and “today the government begins to change.”
Meanwhile, the Colorado Party candidate delivered his vote in the early hours of the afternoon, accompanied by his nephew, in the Punta Gorda neighborhood. Ojeda, third in the polls, pointed out that the projections of these elections have given a “lesson to the system” and that “the new policy is here to stay.”
Although the lines began to lengthen in the afternoon hours, no serious episodes were recorded as the voting progressed. Many voters took advantage of the sunny day to take a walk along the banks of the Río de la Plata and then go to their respective centers.
On the Rambla of Montevideo, a long 22-kilometer avenue that borders the coast of the Río de la Plata, militants from the two main political forces celebrated the day with flags, songs and refreshments in a peaceful atmosphere despite political differences.
At the end of the afternoon and accompanied by friends, family and party colleagues, the candidates began to head to their respective headquarters, where they planned to wait for the results. Dozens of supporters also began to arrive, with flags and t-shirts, to the forts to express their support for their candidates and celebrate the end of this hard-fought election day.
On the same day, two plebiscites were also held, in which voting—unlike the presidential election—is not mandatory. One referred to growing security concerns and the possibility of allowing nighttime raids on homes, while the second popular consultation inquired about a reform of the pension system.
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