Uruguay’s presidential runoff will be tight. But with rivals in agreement, it’s no nail-biter

Associated Press

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Uruguay’s presidential election has opened a four-week window during which the leading center-left and center-right coalitions will go all-out to pull more voters into their camps ahead of a heated runoff. The race is expected to be tight but the stakes are low in this prosperous South American nation where front-runners broadly share a consensus on continuing the business-friendly policies of current President Luis Lacalle Pou and ramping up efforts to tackle crime. Voters on Sunday pushed Uruguay’s moderate left-wing coalition 17 points ahead of the governing conservative candidate but not enough to avoid a second round of voting on Nov. 24.