General elections were held in

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

on 25 October 2009 alongside a two-part referendum. As no candidate for president received more than 50% of the vote, a second round was held on 29 November between the top two candidates,

José Mujica José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica Cordano (; born 20 May 1935) is a Uruguayan politician, former revolutionary and farmer who served as the 40th president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015. A former guerrilla with the Tupamaros, he was tortured and im ...

of the ruling Broad Front (who received 48% of the vote) and

Luis Alberto Lacalle Luis Alberto Lacalle de Herrera, GCMG (; ''Lacalle'' locally or ; born 13 July 1941), is a Uruguayan politician and lawyer who served as President of Uruguay from 1990 to 1995. Background His mother, María Hortensia de Herrera de Lacalle, ...

of the National Party (29%). Mujica won the run-off with 55% of the vote. In the parliamentary elections, the Broad Front retained its majorities in both chambers, winning 16 of the 30 seats in the senators and 50 of the 99 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The National Party finished second with 9 senators and 30 deputies, the Colorado Party third with 5 Senators and 17 Deputies, and the Independent Party fourth with 2 deputies.

Presidential candidates

Presidential primaries The presidential primary elections and caucuses held in the various states, the District of Columbia, and territories of the United States form part of the nominating process of candidates for United States presidential elections. The United S ...

were held on 28 June to select the candidates.

Results

Analysts indicated that Mujica won largely because of the popularity of the Broad Front and incumbent President

Tabaré Vázquez Tabaré Ramón Vázquez Rosas (; ''Vázquez Rosas'' locally ; 17 January 19406 December 2020) was a Uruguayan politician who served as the 41st president of Uruguay from 2015 to 2020. He previously served from 2005 to 2010 as the 39th presiden ...

's pro-business policies that had strengthened the country's economy. After taking office in 2005, Vazquez cut the unemployment rate from 12.3 to 7.3 percent, encouraged trade and foreign investment, increased wages and social spending, and boosted the central bank reserves and the country's

credit rating A credit rating is an evaluation of the credit risk of a prospective debtor (an individual, a business, company or a government), predicting their ability to pay back the debt, and an implicit forecast of the likelihood of the debtor defaulting. ...

. The Broad Front retained a majority in

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

with 15 senators (plus

Danilo Astori Danilo Ángel Astori Saragosa (born April 23, 1940) is a Uruguayan retired social democratic politician who served as the 15th vice president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015 under President José Mujica. A member of Uruguay Assembly– Broad Front, ...

, later elected vice-president and thus president of the General Assembly) out of a total of 30 and 50 deputies out of a total of 99. The National Party came in second with 9 senators and 30 deputies. Both parties lost votes and legislative seats in comparison with 2004. The historically dominant Colorado made gains and increased its representation to 5 senators and 17 deputies. Finally, the Independent Party did not achieve its main goal of winning a seat in the Senate, but obtained 2 seats in the lower chamber.

Pedro Bordaberry Juan Pedro Bordaberry Herrán (born 28 April 1960) is a Uruguayan attorney, lecturer and politician, who served as a Senator of the Republic from 2010 to 2020, as Minister of Tourism and Sports from 2003 to 2005, and as Minister of Industry, Ene ...

led the Colorado Party to a notable electoral recovery, practically doubling its votes cast in 2004. The Independent Party, with candidates Pablo Mieres and Iván Posada, gained an additional seat in the Chamber of Deputies. Popular Assembly, a small, new extreme left party, did not win much support.

By department

Notes

References

External links

{{Uruguayan elections

General election Elections in Uruguay

José Mujica