(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – José Mujica could secure a victory in this weekend’s presidential run-off in Uruguay, according to a poll by Interconsult. 48 per cent of respondents would vote for the left-wing candidate this Sunday, while 42 per cent would support Luis Lacalle.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – José Mujica could secure a victory in this weekend’s presidential run-off in Uruguay, according to a poll by Interconsult. 48 per cent of respondents would vote for the left-wing candidate this Sunday, while 42 per cent would support Luis Lacalle.
Mujica of the governing Progressive Encounter – Broad Front (EP-FA) and former president Lacalle of the opposition National Party-Whites (PN-B), will face each other in the second round of Uruguay’s presidential election on Nov. 29.
Tabaré Vázquez—nominee for the EP-FA—won the October 2004 election with 50.45 per cent of the vote, becoming the first Uruguayan president to represent a political organization other than the Red Party (PC) and the PN-B. Vázquez officially took over in March 2005, and began his government with majorities in the Chamber of Deputies—with 52 lawmakers in the 99-seat lower house—and the Chamber of Senators—with 18 legislators in the 31-seat upper house. Vázquez is constitutionally barred from seeking a consecutive term.
On Oct. 25, Uruguayan voters took part in the first round of the presidential election. Mujica finished in first place with 47.96 per cent of all cast ballots, followed by Lacalle with 29.07 per cent. Since no candidate garnered more than 50 per cent of the vote, a run-off was scheduled.
In the legislative election, the EP-FA secured 50 lower house and 16 upper house seats, followed by the PN-B with 30 deputies and nine senators.
On Nov. 22, Olivio Dutra, a former governor from the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, which neighbours with Uruguay, said that he was speaking as "a messenger" for Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva when he called Mujica "an emblematic, charismatic figure capable of working in diversity and with a plurality of ideas".
Polling Data
If the presidential run-off took place this Sunday, which candidate would you vote for?
|
|
Nov. 16
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Nov. 2
|
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José Mujica (EP-FA)
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48%
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47%
|
|
Luis Lacalle (PN-B)
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42%
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40%
|
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Blank ballot / Undecided
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10%
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13%
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Source: Interconsult
Methodology: Interviews with 800 Uruguayan adults, conducted from Nov. 14 to Nov. 16, 2009. Margin of error is 3.3 per cent.
