Sawt Falasteen - Left seeks to unseat conservative in Uruguay president vote

Crime is the main concern among people in this small Latin American country with high per-capita income and low levels of poverty compared to the rest of South America. But violence stemming from drug trafficking is on the rise.

Eleven men are seeking to replace outgoing center-right president Luis Lacalle Pou. He has a 50 percent approval rating and is barred a second five-year term.

Yamandu Orsi, a history professor representing the leftist opposition party Frente Amplio, is ahead of the pack, with expected support from up to 47 percent of the electorate.

Orsi is seen as the understudy to an aging former president, Jose Mujica, a former leftist guerrilla and who is 89 and battling cancer.

The Frente Amplio held the presidency for three straight terms until it was voted out in 2020.

The next strongest candidate is Alvaro Delgado, a 55-year-old veterinarian representing the ruling conservative coalition, with 20 to 25 percent of the votes.

"I will vote for the Frente Amplio. I think Mujica is a wise person," Arishza Ayala, a 53 year old self-employed person, told AFP.

If no one wins more than 50 percent of the votes on Sunday, a runoff will be held on November 24.

"It is an election with a lot of uncertainty, very competitive, with two blocs that are very similar," said political analyst Adolfo Garce.

He said it is unclear if either side would win a majority in Congress.

Mugica, who is still popular in Uruguay and took part in the election campaign despite his frailty, showed up in a wheelchair to cast his ballot in a poor area of Montevideo.

Surrounded by television cameras he said this will probably be the last time he votes.

"I hope not, but," he said.

Voters were also choosing a new Congress in Sunday's election and voting in two referendums, the most controversial of which would lower the retirement age from 65 to 60 and outlaw private retirement pension plans.

The other would give police more leeway to raid people's homes in the fight against crime.

Polls were scheduled to close at 7:30 pm (2230 GMT) and exit polls were due to come out an hour later. Voting is mandatory in Uruguay.

The Electoral Court is expected to have definitive results in the early hours of Monday.

O.Farraj--SF-PST