Elections in Uruguay: There will be a second round

Former Uruguayan guerrilla leader Jose Mujica says he failed to win a majority of the vote in today’s presidential election, forcing a runoff against ex- President Luis Alberto Lacalle on November 29.

The exit polls suggest Mujica got about 48 percent of the votes Sunday, far more than former president Luis Alberto LaCalle with about 30 percent while 17 percent of voters backed Colorado Party candidate Pedro Bordaberry, pollster Luis Gonzalez of polling company Cifra said on Channel 12. Official results may not be available until tomorrow.

Mujica needs at least 50 percent support to avoid a one-on-one runoff election on November 29.

He represents the ruling leftist Broad Front and hopes to create enduring socialism in Uruguay. Lacalle is a free-marketeer who wants to cut government and taxes and distance his nation from Latin American leftists.

“We have more support than the other top two parties combined,” Mujica told reporters in Montevideo after voting ended. “How can we not be happy about the indisputable fact that we are headed to a victory.”