Voters Uruguay is gearing up for elections this Sunday, overshadowed by a vote on pensions on the same day and concerns over crime, Reuters reported, citing BTA.
Uruguayans will vote tomorrow for president, vice-president and parliament, and according to polls, it is likely to reach a second round on November 24. To avoid this, one of the candidates must receive more than 50% of the votes.
Voting begins at 7:30 a.m. and results are expected after 9:30 a.m. local time. According to the polls, the centre-left candidate of the coalition "Broad Front" Yamandu Orsi is leading the presidential race, followed by the candidate of the ruling conservative coalition Alvaro Delgado.
The election, in which two centrist candidates are competing, is contrary to the Latin American trend of sharp political changes, notes Reuters.
Orsi, a 57-year-old former mayor who has promised to focus on economic growth and keep taxes low, has a moderate platform on the "modern left".
His rival Delgado, 55, is from the current government, emphasizing stability. But continuity is a double-edged sword - most voters are generally happy with the economic performance, although crime and drug gang concerns are key issues for voters.
Bloody battles for territory between small drug-dealing clans on the outskirts of cities and related violent crime have shocked the small, relatively peaceful country, which is not accustomed to gang violence.
In third place after Delgado and Orsi is Andres Ojeda, a 40-year-old candidate who actively uses social networks. He has pledged to support Delgado if he fails to reach the second round himself, making the race likely to be contested, Reuters notes.
In addition, a referendum is being held on Sunday to change the private pension system in the country by lowering the retirement age to 60 and increasing pensions. The plan is divisive and worries politicians and investors, who say it will have significant consequences for the small economy that relies on agricultural exports.
About 47 percent of voters plan to support the measure, though that's down from 53 percent in September, the latest polls show. In order to make a decision, the votes of more than half of the voters are sufficient and its results are binding on the authorities.
Among the issues in the referendum is also whether to allow police to carry out raids on homes at night amid a rise in violence linked to the change in cocaine trafficking routes.