Uruguay ousted its conservative government that had been in charge for the past five years, as leftist opposition candidate Yamandú Orsi claimed victory in a tight presidential runoff Sunday. Even as the vote count continued,

Even as the vote count continued, Álvaro Delgado, the presidential candidate for the center-right ruling coalition, conceded defeat.

Mr. Delgado’s concession signaled an end to the short stint of the right-leaning government in Uruguay that in 2020, when President Luis Lacalle Pou took office, ended 15 years of government by the Broad Front. During that period, the Broad Front oversaw the legalization of abortion, same-sex marriage and the sale of marijuana.

Uruguayans are returning to the polls for a second round of voting to choose their next president. In Sunday's election, the conservative governing party and the left-leaning coalition locked in a close runoff after failing to win an outright majority in last month’s vote.

MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - Uruguayan Alvaro Delgado, a 55-year-old former senator and the conservative ruling coalition's continuity candidate for president, is counting on support from an eliminated ally to triumph against the center-left frontrunner in Sunday's run-off election.

Uruguay's left-wing opposition Broad Front candidate, Yamandú Orsi, claimed victory in Sunday's presidential runoff, besting Alvaro Delgado of the conservative ruling National Party.

The center-left former mayor returns the Broad Front to power but will face a divided parliament.

Uruguay’s leftist opposition candidate, Yamandu Orsi, has became the country’s new President after a tight run-off contest. Mr Orsi’s victory ousts the conservative governing coalition and makes the South American nation the latest to rebuke the incumbent party in a year of landmark elections worldwide.

Leftist candidate Yamandú Orsi has won Uruguay's presidency in a closely contested runoff election. Orsi's win ushers in a return of the Broad Front, the party that governed for 15 consecutive years until the 2019 election of center-right National Party President Luis Lacalle Pou.

Left-wing politician Yamandu Orsi was elected president of Uruguay, official results showed on Sunday, in a rebuke by voters of five years of conservative rule.- 'A very different world' - Orsi's victory will see Uruguay swing left again after five years of center-right rule in the country of 3.