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Elections in Uruguay

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Elections in Uruguay encompass three different types: general elections, departamental elections and municipal elections. At the national level, Uruguay elects a head of state (the President) and a legislature (the General Assembly). Voting is compulsory and extends to all citizens aged 18 and over.[1]

The Electoral Court sets standards for and issues guidelines to returning officers and polling station officials, and is responsible for nationwide electoral administration (such as the registration of political parties and directing the administration of elections and national referendums).[2]

Voting

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Electoral registration

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Since voting is compulsory in Uruguay, every Uruguayan citizen upon turning 18 must register in the "National Civic Registry", an electoral roll of citizens with the right to vote, administered by the Electoral Court.[3] After registration, the person obtains the Credencial Cívica, the official document used to cast the vote.[4]

Polling procedure

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Voting ballot box in the 2014 general elections

The voting procedure is detailed in Law No. 7,812 –known as the "Elections Law"–.[5] To cast the vote, Uruguayan citizens must appear before a polling station determined based on the series and number of their registration in the electoral roll.[6]

Having verified the identity of the voter and their inclusion in the electoral roll, the polling station officials give them an envelope to go to the voting booth, known as Cuarto secreto (Spanish for 'Secret room'), and insert the ballot inside, guaranteeing the secrecy of the vote.[7] Once outside the cuarto secreto, the voter places the envelope inside a closed ballot box.[8]

Presidential elections

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The president and the vice-president are elected on one ballot for a five-year term by the people.

In Uruguay, a blanket primary election is held in June to elect the national convention of each party, which selects the presidential candidate. All parties must participate, however voting is voluntary unlike the other instances in the electoral process. The most voted presidential pre-candidate is automatically designated if they reach the absolute majority, or a 40% plurarity with a 10% margin over the second most voted candidate. The convention also selects the vice-presidential candidate.

General elections are held in October. If no presidential candidate obtains the absolute majority of votes, there is a runoff between the two most-voted candidates.

Parliamentary elections

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The General Assembly (Asamblea General) has two chambers. The Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados) has 99 members, elected for a five-year term by proportional representation with representation from the 19 departments. The Chamber of Senators (Cámara de Senadores) has 30 members elected for a five-year term by proportional representation at the national level, plus the Vice-president.

After the 2019 elections, seven parties are represented in the Chamber of Deputies and four in the Chamber of Senators.

Schedule

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Election

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Position 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Type Presidential (October)
National Congress (October)
Gubernatorial (October)		 None None Presidential (October)
National Congress (October)
Gubernatorial (October)		 None
President and
vice president 		President and vice president None None President and vice president None
National Congress All seats None None All seats None
Provinces, cities and municipalities None All positions None None All positions

Inauguration

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Position 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Type Presidential (March)
National Congress (March)
Gubernatorial (March)		 None Presidential (March)
National Congress (March)
Gubernatorial (March)
President and
vice president 		March 1 None March 1st
National Congress February 15 None February 15
Provinces, cities and municipalities July 8 None July 11th

Latest elections

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Main article: 2019 Uruguayan general election

2019 general election

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On 25 November, preliminary results in the runoff election showed Lacalle Pou with a majority (48.71%) by 28,666 votes over Martínez (47.51%), which delayed the announcement of a winner as 35,229 absentee votes needed to be counted.[9][10] Martínez later conceded defeat on 28 November.[10] On 30 November, final votes counts confirmed Lacalle Pou as the winner with 48.8% of the total votes cast over Martínez with 47.3%.[11]

Map of the legislative results
Party Presidential candidate First round Second round Seats
Votes % Votes % Chamber +/– Senate +/–
Broad Front Daniel Martínez 949,376 40.49 1,152,271 49.21 42 –8 13 –2
National Party Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou 696,452 29.70 1,189,313 50.79 30 –2 10 0
Colorado Party Ernesto Talvi 300,177 12.80 13 0 4 0
Open Cabildo Guido Manini Ríos 268,736 11.46 11 New 3 New
Partido Ecologista Radical Intransigente César Vega 33,461 1.43 1 +1 0 0
Party of the Folk Edgardo Novick 26,313 1.12 1 +1 0 0
Independent Party Pablo Mieres 23,580 1.01 1 –2 0 –1
Popular Unity Gonzalo Abella 19,728 0.84 0 –1 0 0
Green Animalist Party Gustavo Salle 19,392 0.83 0 New 0 New
Digital Party Daniel Goldman 6,363 0.27 0 New 0 New
Workers' Party Rafael Fernández 1,387 0.06 0 0 0 0
Invalid/blank votes 88,399 – 91,612 – – – – –
Total 2,433,364 100 2,433,196 100 99 0 30 0
Registered voters/turnout 2,699,978 90.13 2,699,980 90.12 – – – –
Source: Corte Electoral, El Pais Archived 2020-01-17 at the Wayback Machine (first round); Corte Electoral El Pais (second round)
Popular vote (first round)
FA
 
 40.49%
PN
 
 29.70%
PC
 
 12.80%
CA
 
 11.46%
PERI
 
 1.43%
PG
 
 1.12%
PI
 
 1.01%
Others
 
 2.00%
Popular vote (second round)
Lacalle
 
 50.62%
Martínez
 
 49.38%
Seats (chamber)
FA
 
 42.42%
PN
 
 30.30%
PC
 
 13.13%
CA
 
 11.11%
PERI
 
 1.11%
PG
 
 1.11%
PI
 
 1.11%
Seats (senate)
FA
 
 43.33%
PN
 
 33.33%
PC
 
 13.33%
CA
 
 10.00%

Past elections and referendums

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Local elections

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Next elections

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "¿Hasta qué edad es obligatorio votar en Uruguay?". Telenoche (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2024-02-09. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  2. ^ "Cometidos". Corte Electoral (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2023-12-03. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  3. ^ "Largas filas para sacar la credencial, en el último día para el trámite: dónde y cómo se realiza". EL PAIS (in Spanish). 2024-04-15. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  4. ^ "Credencial cívica | Trámites". www.gub.uy. Archived from the original on 2023-11-23. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  5. ^ "¿Voto electrónico en Uruguay?: una "utopía" posible, pero que requiere cambiar la ley". Montevideo Portal (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  6. ^ "Cómo votar sin la credencial y otras once dudas electorales". EL PAIS. 2019-10-26. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  7. ^ Redacción. "Qué se puede hacer y qué no este domingo en el cuarto secreto". El Observador. Archived from the original on 2023-10-06. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  8. ^ "En Cerro Largo hay una urna de madera de 1920". EL PAIS. 2009-10-23. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  9. ^ "Elecciones en Uruguay: con el 100% de las mesas escrutadas, ¿cómo terminó la votación?". La Nación (in Spanish). 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  10. ^ a b "Uruguay election: Lacalle wins presidency as rival concedes". BBC.com. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Lacalle won with 48.8% and Martínez obtained 47.3% in the 2019 ballot: look at the results". El Pais. 30 November 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
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