2009 Uruguayan general election

General elections were held in Uruguay 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 of the ruling Broad Front (who received 48% of the vote) and Luis Alberto Lacalle of the National Party (29%). Mujica won the run-off with 55% of the vote.

2009 Uruguayan general election

25 October 2009 (first round) 29 November 2009 (second round)

Nominee José Mujica Luis Alberto Lacalle Party Broad Front National Party Running mate Danilo Astori Jorge Larrañaga Popular vote 1,197,638 994,510 Percentage 52.39% 43.50%

President before election Tabaré Vázquez Broad Front Elected President José Mujica Broad Front

Parliamentary election

Party Leader % Seats ± Chamber Broad Front José Mujica 47.96% 50 -2 National Party Luis Alberto Lacalle 29.07% 30 -6 Colorado Party Pedro Bordaberry 17.02% 17 +7 Independent Party Pablo Mieres 2.49% 2 +1 Senate Broad Front José Mujica 47.96% 16 0 National Party Luis Alberto Lacalle 29.07% 9 -2 Colorado Party Pedro Bordaberry 17.02% 5 +2 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

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.[1]

Presidential candidates

Presidential primaries were held on 28 June to select the candidates.

Party		Candidate		Ideology	Previous result
					Votes (%)	Seats
	Broad Front		José Mujica	Democratic socialism Social democracy	50.45%	52 / 99 16 / 30
	National Party		Luis Alberto Lacalle	Conservatism Christian democracy	34.30%	36 / 99 11 / 30
	Colorado Party		Pedro Bordaberry	Liberalism	10.36%	10 / 99 3 / 30
	Independent Party		Pablo Mieres	Social democracy Christian democracy	1.84%	1 / 99 0 / 30
	Popular Assembly		Raúl Rodríguez	Marxism	Did not contest

Results

Analysts indicated that Mujica won largely because of the popularity of the Broad Front and incumbent President Tabaré Vázquez's pro-business policies that had strengthened the country's economy.[2] 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.[3]

The Broad Front retained a majority in parliament with 15 senators (plus Danilo Astori, 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 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.

Party	Presidential candidate	First round		Second round		Seats
		Votes	%	Votes	%	Chamber	+/–	Senate	+/–
Broad Front	José Mujica	1,105,262	47.96	1,197,638	54.63	50	–2	16	0
National Party	Luis Alberto Lacalle	669,942	29.07	994,510	45.37	30	–6	9	–2
Colorado Party	Pedro Bordaberry	392,307	17.02			17	+7	5	+2
Independent Party	Pablo Mieres	57,360	2.49			2	+1	0	0
Popular Assembly	Raúl Rodríguez	15,428	0.67			0	New	0	New
Invalid/blank votes		64,387	–	93,810	–	–	–	–	–
Total		2,304,686	100	2,285,958	100	99	0	30	0
Source: Corte Electoral

Popular vote (first round) FA   47.96% PN   29.07% PC   17.02% PI   2.49% AP   0.67% Invalid/blanks   2.79%

Popular vote (second round) FA   52.39% PN   43.50% Invalid/blanks   4.11%

References

1. "Uruguayan ruling coalition retains majority in next Parliament — MercoPress". En.mercopress.com. 2009-10-27. Retrieved 2012-11-08.
2. Farrell, Jeff (30 November 2009). "In Uruguay, former guerrilla wins by moving away from Chávez". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
3. Orihuela, Rodrigo (November 30, 2009). "Former Uruguay Rebel Mujica Wins Presidency on Runoff". Bloomberg. Retrieved 1 December 2009.

External links