Yamandú Orsi, a center-left former mayor, finished first on Sunday but fell short of the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid another round of voting.

Uruguay’s presidential election will go to a runoff next month after neither candidate reached the absolute majority needed to win, while a contentious overhaul of the country’s pension system failed to pass.

Uruguay is heading for a tight presidential election run-off next month after a first round on Sunday saw a center-left candidate come top ahead of two candidates who split the conservative vote.

National Party

The leading contenders in Uruguay's presidential election on Sunday said voters in the small South American nation had sent the race to a runoff in November.

Early exit polls after Uruguay's presidential election on Sunday suggest the center-left opposition candidate Yamandu Orsi was ahead of his conservative rival, Alvaro Delgado, with a second round likely needed in November for a head-to-head photo finish.

Voters in the small South American nation of Uruguay cast ballots Sunday in a presidential election in which a center-left rural mayor pulled firmly ahead of the conservative incumbent-party candidate,

Official presidential results in Uruguay on Sunday showed center-left candidate Yamandu Orsi will likely face conservative Alvaro Delgado in a second round next month, as no candidate secured the majority needed for a photo-finish.

The leading contenders in Uruguay’s presidential election said voters in the small South American nation had sent the race to a run-off in