Yamandu Orsi wins Uruguay’s run-off presidential election

Yamandu Orsi, the campaigner for the left-wing Broad Front coalition, is projected to look victorious successful Uruguay’s run-off election for the presidency.

He bested Alvaro Delgado of the ruling National Party to triumph the tightly fought race, though nationalist sentiment polls showed the 2 candidates successful a dormant vigor successful the lead-up to Sunday’s vote.

Orsi’s supporters took to the streets successful the superior of Montevideo, arsenic the authoritative results started to amusement the erstwhile politician and past teacher surging ahead.

Many waved the enactment banner: a red, bluish and achromatic striped emblem with the initials FA for “Frente Amplio”, which translates to “Broad Front”.

“Joy volition instrumentality for the majority,” the conjugation posted connected social media arsenic Orsi approached victory. “Cheers, radical of Uruguay.”

Supporters of Yamandu Orsi observe aboriginal results aft polls closed successful Montevideo, Uruguay, connected November 24 [Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo]

Orsi’s triumph restores the Broad Front to powerfulness successful the tiny South American country, sandwiched connected the Atlantic seashore betwixt Brazil and Argentina.

For 15 years, from 2005 to 2020, the Broad Front had held Uruguay’s enforcement office, with the presidencies of Jose Mujica and Tabare Vazquez, the second of whom won 2 non-consecutive, five-year terms.

But that winning streak came to an end successful the 2019 election, with the victory of existent President Luis Lacalle Pou, who led a conjugation of right-leaning parties.

Under Uruguay law, however, a president cannot tally for consecutive terms. Lacalle Pou was truthful not a campaigner successful the 2024 race.

Running successful his stead was Delgado, a erstwhile veterinarian and Congress subordinate who served arsenic a governmental appointee successful Lacalle Pou’s authorities from 2020 to 2023.

Even earlier the authoritative results were announced connected Sunday, Delgado had conceded, acknowledging Orsi’s triumph was imminent.

“Today, the Uruguayans person defined who volition clasp the presidency of the republic. And I privation to nonstop here, with each these actors of the coalition, a large hug and a greeting to Yamandu Orsi,” Delgado said successful a code arsenic helium clutched a ample Uruguayan emblem successful his hand.

He called connected his supporters to “respect the sovereign decisions” of the electorate, portion striking a enactment of defiance.

“It’s 1 happening to suffer an election, and different to beryllium defeated. We are not defeated,” helium said, pledging that his right-wing conjugation was “here to stay”.

The outgoing president, Lacalle Pou, besides reached retired to Orsi to admit the Broad Front’s victory.

“I called [Yamandu Orsi] to congratulate him arsenic president-elect of our state and to enactment myself astatine his work and statesman the modulation arsenic soon arsenic I deem it pertinent,” Lacalle Pou wrote connected social media.

Supporters clasp cutouts of Yamandu Orsi’s look successful Montevideo, Uruguay, connected November 24 [Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo]

Orsi had been considered the frontrunner successful the lead-up to the archetypal circular of the elections.

Originally from Canelones, a coastal determination successful the southbound of Uruguay, Orsi began his vocation locally arsenic a past teacher, activistic and secretary-general of the department’s government. In 2015, helium successfully ran to beryllium politician of Canelones and won re-election successful 2020.

In the 2024 statesmanlike race, Orsi – similar virtually each the candidates connected the run way – pledged to bolster Uruguay’s economy. He called for wage increases, peculiarly for low-wage workers, to turn their “purchasing power”.

He besides called for greater aboriginal puerility acquisition and employment programmes for young adults. According to a United Nations report earlier this year, astir 25 percent of Uruguay’s children unrecorded successful poverty.

But the system was not the lone contented astatine the forefront of voters’ minds. In a June survey from the communications steadfast Nomade, the largest stock of respondents – 29 percent – identified “insecurity” arsenic Uruguay’s “principal problem”.

That dwarfed the second-highest ranked topic: “Unemployment” was lone picked by 15 percent of respondents.

As portion of his platform, Orsi pledged to summation the constabulary unit and fortify Uruguay’s borders, including done the installation of much information cameras.

As helium campaigned, Orsi enjoyed the enactment of erstwhile President Mujica, a erstwhile rebel combatant who survived torture nether Uruguay’s subject dictatorship successful the 1970s and ’80s.

Mujica remains a fashionable fig connected Uruguay’s left, champion known for his humble surviving arrangements that erstwhile earned him the moniker of the “world’s poorest president”.

Supporters of Yamandu Orsi, campaigner for the Broad Front, locomotion a canine decorated with the party’s colours successful Montevideo, Uruguay, connected Sunday [Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo]

In the archetypal circular of voting, connected October 27, Orsi came retired connected top, with 44 percent of the ballot to Delgado’s 27 percent. But his full was acold abbreviated of the 50 percent helium needed to triumph the predetermination outright, thereby triggering a run-off.

The contention got tighter from determination forward. Only 2 candidates progressed to the run-off – Delgado and Orsi – and Delgado picked up enactment from voters who had backed erstwhile Colorado Party campaigner Andres Ojeda, a chap blimpish who was knocked retired successful the archetypal round.

Nevertheless, Orsi rapidly pulled up aft the polls closed for the run-off predetermination connected Sunday.

“The skyline is brightening,” Orsi said successful his triumph speech. “The state of freedom, equality and besides fraternity triumphs erstwhile again.”