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

Presidential 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 54.63% 45.37%

Results by department in the first round (left) and second round (right)

President before election

Tabaré Vázquez
Broad Front

Elected President

José Mujica
Broad Front

Parliamentary election
PartyLeader % Seats +/–
Chamber
Broad Front José Mujica 49.34 50 -2
National Party Luis Alberto Lacalle 29.90 30 -6
Colorado Party Pedro Bordaberry 17.51 17 +7
Independent Party Pablo Mieres 2.56 2 +1
Senate
Broad Front José Mujica 49.34 16 0
National Party Luis Alberto Lacalle 29.90 9 -2
Colorado Party Pedro Bordaberry 17.51 5 +2

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]

Primaries

The presidential primary elections were held on 28 June 2009 to nominate a candidate for each party.[2] José Mujica became the Broad Front's candidate, winning over Danilo Astori and Marcos Carámbula. The National Party chose Luis Alberto Lacalle over Jorge Larrañaga and Irineu Riet Correa. Pedro Bordaberry won the Colorado Party candidacy, beating out José Amorín, Luis Antonio Hierro López, and Daniel Lamas. Pablo Mieres (Independent Party) and Raúl Rodríguez (Popular Assembly) ran unopposed. Not all contenders were members of the party they sought to represent.

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.[3] 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.[4]

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.

PartyPresidential candidateFirst roundSecond roundSeats
Votes%Votes%Chamber+/–Senate+/–
Broad FrontJosé Mujica1,105,26249.341,197,63854.6350–2160
National PartyLuis Alberto Lacalle669,94229.90994,51045.3730–69–2
Colorado PartyPedro Bordaberry392,30717.5117+75+2
Independent PartyPablo Mieres57,3602.562+100
Popular AssemblyRaúl Rodríguez15,4280.690New0New
Total2,240,299100.002,192,148100.00990300
Valid votes2,240,29997.212,192,14895.90
Invalid/blank votes64,3872.7993,8104.10
Total votes2,304,686100.002,285,958100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,563,25089.912,563,25089.18
Source: Corte Electoral

By department

Notes

  1. Parties which gained no parliamentary representation: Popular Assembly.

References

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