Elections in Uruguay - October 31, 1999After the November 28 run-off elections, Jorge Batlle of the Colorado Party was declared President of Uruguay with 54.1% of total votes cast (1,158,708 votes), while Progressive Encounter (EP) candidate Tabaré Vázquez finished nearly 10 points behind with 45.9% (981,778 votes).
With all the votes tabulated, Tabaré Vázquez (Encuentro Progresista, EP) garnered 38.51% of the votes; Jorge Batlle (Partido Colorado), 31.32%; Luis Alberto Lacalle (Partido Nacional, or "Blanco"), 21.29%; and Rafael Michelini (Nuevo Espacio), 4.36%. A run-off election between the two highest vote winners, Vázquez and Batlle, will be held on November 28. Voting is mandatory in Uruguay, and failure to vote, penalized by fine or ineligibility for public employment.
Support for the EP was concentrated in the capital city of Montevideo, which accounts for around 43% of total votes nationwide (962.2 thousand out of 2.2 million), where the party won 50.12% of votes cast. The EP also won in the departments of Paysandú and Canelones with 39.72% and 37.76% of total votation, respectively. The Colorados won in nine of the country's 19 departments (including Montevideo), obtaining their biggest margins of victory in Río Negro (40.00%), Rivera (39.22%), and Artigas (38.87), while the Blancos won in five. The remaining two departments were too close to determine as of the day following the elections.
Uruguay's 99 Deputies and 30 Senators are distributed according to the principle of proportional representation, with the entire country counting as a single district.
Source: El Observador, November 1, 1999; Ministerio del Interior
For official results, consult the Ministerio del Interior
The inclusion of candidates or parties in the LANIC Electoral Observatory should in no way be construed as an endorsement of the same.