The candidate of the leftist party in power in Uruguay, Daniel Martinez, acknowledged Thursday, November 28, his defeat against the center right, Luis Lacalle Pou, in the second round of presidential elections, held Sunday. "We salute the President-elect, Luis Lacalle Pou, whom I will meet tomorrow"Martinez wrote on his Twitter account.
The evolución del escrutinio de los votos observados no modifica la tendencia.Por lo tanto saludamos al presidente e … https://t.co/cBbSF14pZd
"We will continue to defend democracy more than ever"he added in a second message. On Sunday evening, at the end of the count, the difference of some 30,000 votes between Mr. Lacalle Pou and Mr. Martinez was less than the number of bulletins subject to verification.
The end of fifteen years of a coalition of the left
The electoral authority had announced that it would wait for the second count, which it carries out traditionally at each election, before announcing a winner. The official result must be made public " by Friday "had announced to AFP the president of the institution, José Arocena. The new president will take office on 1st March for five years.
Luis Lacalle Pou, 46 years old and son of former president Luis Alberto Lacalle (1990-1995), obtained 1,168 million votes (48.71%), against 1,139 million votes to Mr. Martinez (47,51%), former Mayor of Montevideo 62 years old and representative of the ruling party, the Frente Amplio (Extended Front).
In the first round, Mr. Lacalle Pou was second, behind Mr. Martinez, a French-Uruguayan engineer. But he then set up a coalition with the other contenders beaten, going from the right to the Social Democrats and allowing him to pry ahead of the polls.
In case of confirmation of the victory of Luis Lacalle Pou, of the National Party, this lawyer would turn the page of fifteen years of presidency of left in Uruguay. During these years, the ruling coalition has notably approved abortion (2012), same-sex marriage (2013) and was a pioneer in the legalization of cannabis (2013).
