2024 Uruguayan general election

General elections were held in Uruguay on 27 October 2024. Since no presidential candidate received a majority in the first round of voting, a runoff took place on 24 November 2024, with Yamandú Orsi of the Broad Front defeating Álvaro Delgado of the Republican Coalition.
The first round of the election also coincided with two constitutional referendums on reforms to the social security system that would lower the retirement age, increase payouts and transfer privately managed savings to a state-run trust, and allowing for nighttime police raids in homes.
Incumbent President Luis Lacalle Pou, who won the 2019 elections, cannot run again as the constitution bars a president from immediate re-election. As a result, the governing National Party has to nominate a new candidate.
Lacalle Pou took office in 2020, heading the Multicolor Coalition, a big tent political alliance formed after October 2019 first round that remains active in the 2024 elections under the name Republican Coalition. His cabinet is composed of leaders from the member parties of the coalition, which holds a majority in both chambers of Parliament, allowing it to push through various legislative initiatives despite the Broad Front opposition.
During the period from 2020 to 2024, the government of Luis Lacalle Pou has faced various controversies and challenges. These have included issues related to the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic policies, corruption scandals and social issues such as education reform and security.
Voting in Uruguay is compulsory and extends to all citizens aged 18 and over. Those who cannot vote without a valid reason will face a fine or be sanctioned with the inability to carry out various public procedures. According to the Constitution of Uruguay, voting is not only a right of the citizen but above all, it is a duty as a citizen, as well as an obligation.
The President of Uruguay is elected using the two-round system, with a run-off held between the two most-voted candidates if no candidate receives 50% of the vote in the first round. The 30 members of the Senate are elected by proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency. The vice president, elected on the same ballot as the president, becomes president of the Senate, with his vote being determinant in case of tie. The 99 members of the Chamber of Representatives are elected by proportional representation in 19 multi-member constituencies based on the 19 departments. Seats are allocated using the highest averages method.
The elections are held using the double simultaneous vote method, whereby voters cast a single vote for the party of their choice for all three seats of Presidency, Senate and Chamber of Representatives.
Presidential primaries were held on 30 June 2024 to nominate the presidential candidate for every political party. Fourteen political parties surpassed the minimum of 500 valid votes in the internal elections required by the Electoral Court to participate in the general elections. Of these fourteen, only eleven ultimately participated in these elections (the same number of parties as in the previous elections of 2019, but with different parties).
Below are the parties that surpassed the 2024 primary elections, listed by their results in the 2019 general elections.
Parties that did not manage to gather the minimum required of 251 delegates in their National Convention before August 31 to approve their presidential ticket.
Yamandú Orsi was endorsed by former president José Mujica, who rarely made appearances during the campaign due to his treatment against cancer. Following her defeat in the national primaries, pre-candidate Laura Raffo joined the list 40 of the National Party, with Álvaro Delgado. Following the first round, Andrés Ojeda expressed his support for Álvaro Delgado and the National Party.
As a result of the high number of small parties not meeting the mathematical threshold to obtain representation in the Senate, the Broad Front won 16 of the 30 seats despite not achieving a majority of the valid votes. On the other hand, no coalition secured a majority in the Chamber of Representatives. The blank and invalid votes represented almost 5% and more than 100,000 votes, a record high.
Following the results of the second round, Delgado conceded defeat to Orsi, who pledged to be a president "who calls again and again for national dialogue to find the best solutions". Outgoing president Luis Lacalle Pou congratulated Orsi, who pledged to begin the presidential transition "as soon as I deem it appropriate".