Voting in Uruguay's general election comes to a close with little drama

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — The polls closed Sunday in Uruguay’s general election, a remarkably civilized contest between two moderate candidates that saw the small South American nation live up to its long-standing reputation for stability.

Electoral officials quietly got down to the business of tallying the results, which were expected to be announced within a few hours.

With the center-right governing party and the center-left Broad Front alliance in agreement on major issues, the stakes are higher for a referendum on social security reform that has already spooked markets into selling the peso.

Public safety is weighing heavily on voters, with another referendum on allowing nighttime police raids on homes.

Polls show Yamandú Orsi of the left-wing coalition in the lead, but indicate no presidential candidate would likely get more than 50% of the vote, meaning a second round run-off would be held on Nov. 24 between the top two contenders.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Voters in the small South American nation of Uruguay were choosing a new president Sunday in a race between two moderates that defies regional trends of bitter division and democratic erosion.

The contest between Uruguay's incumbent conservative coalition and its challenger, a center-left alliance, got underway with some 2.7 million eligible voters also casting ballots for Parliament and a contentious referendum on overhauling the social security system.

The pension vote — which would expand the fiscal deficit in one of Latin America’s wealthiest countries — has consumed more media attention in recent weeks than other top campaign issues, such as child poverty, education and security.

With the candidates in broad agreement over many issues, no one expects the outcome of the presidential vote to herald drastic change in this nation of 3.4 million people, long considered a model democracy and bastion of stability in the region.

“In a way, Uruguay has been boring, but boring in this sense is very good,” said Juan Cruz Díaz, a political analyst who runs the Cefeidas consultancy group in Buenos Aires. “We’ve seen so many dramatic changes in Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia and suddenly we face elections in Uruguay in which there is a general consensus, there’s stability.”

While in neighboring Brazil and Argentina, voters recently vented their rage at the status quo, Uruguay's electorate remains largely satisfied with the government's business-friendly policies and the economy's steady growth. The current center-right president, Luis Lacalle Pou, enjoys a 50% approval rating.

The presidential campaigns have played out without the vitriolic insults and personal attacks seen elsewhere, such as the United States, Argentina or Brazil.

The Rambla, a 22-kilometer-long avenue running down the coast of the country's capital, Montevideo, became a festive gathering spot during the voting day as members of Uruguay’s major conservative and liberal coalitions waved flags and sang songs.

As constitutional term limits bar Lacalle Pou from running for a second consecutive term, the governing party's candidate is Álvaro Delgado, 55, a congressman and Lacalle Pou's former chief of staff, who started his career as a veterinarian.

“We voted with joy in a very special election, appreciating this democracy that makes us proud and Uruguay’s spirit of respect and tolerance,” Delgado posted on social media platform X after casting his ballot.

His main challenger is Yamandú Orsi, 57, a center-left former mayor and history teacher with humble roots from the Frente Amplio (or Broad Front) coalition, which governed from 2005-2020 before Lacalle Pou’s victory. The alliance oversaw the legalization of same-sex marriage. Uruguay became the first country to legalize cannabis for recreational use and developed one of the world's greenest grids, powered by 98% renewable energy.

The latest polls show Orsi in a comfortable lead at 44%, but not winning outright, which would send the country to a run-off on Nov. 24.

Orsi voted at a school in Canelones, the district of cattle and sheep ranches where he served twice as mayor some 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Montevideo. Emerging from the polling station, he expressed pride in his country's enduring faith in democracy, restored in 1984 after a 12-year dictatorship.

“Uruguay has had the happiness for 40 uninterrupted years ... the happiness that our citizens can elect their leaders,” Orsi said. “In today’s world, it is a beautiful privilege.”

Orsi has benefited from the support of popular former President José “Pepe” Mujica, the eccentric former guerrilla who helped spearhead Uruguay's transformation into the continent's most socially liberal country during his 2010-2015 presidency.

Now 89, Mujica is battling esophageal cancer, but he still managed to cast his ballot in Montevideo on Sunday. Arriving to vote in a wheelchair, he was quickly swarmed by reporters.

“We need to support democracy, not because it is perfect, but because humans have not yet invented anything better,” he told journalists after exiting the polling station.

Like Mujica, who lives in a modest farmhouse on the outskirts of Montevideo, Orsi says he wouldn't live in the presidential palace if elected.

In a distant third is Andrés Ojeda, 40, a muscular and media-savvy lawyer who has tried to energize apathetic young voters with splashy campaign videos showing him lifting weights at the gym and describing himself as a classic Capricorn.

He backs the ruling coalition but flaunts an unconventional style that he said draws inspiration from other young charismatic leaders in Latin America wielding social media to amass fans, like El Salvador's populist Nayib Bukele and Argentina's radical libertarian Javier Milei.

“It's a lesson to the system,” Ojeda said of his meteoric rise from obscurity while casting his vote. “The new politics is here to stay.”

The electoral contest has largely focused on the rise in homicides and robberies, with the governing coalition advocating a tough-on-crime approach and the liberal coalition seeking to increase the state's role in security matters.

Voters are also concerned about the one in five Uruguayan children living in poverty and the low rate of high school graduations.

But the overlap between political platforms has left much of the Uruguayan electorate indifferent.

“It was a presidential campaign far removed from the people that did not achieve the levels of engagement that Uruguay historically has,” said Montevideo-based political analyst Julián Kanarek.

More divisive than the presidential race is the constitutional referendum that would overhaul Uruguay's social security system.

If approved by more than 50% of voters, the $23 billion scheme backed by the country's powerful unions would lower the retirement age, boost payouts and transfer Uruguayans' privately managed savings to a government-run trust.

Both leading candidates have spoken out against the proposal, which has already sent tremors through global markets. Shrugging off the fiscal consequences, supporters say it would redistribute Uruguay’s resources more fairly in one of the region's most expensive countries where the average minimum pension stands around $450 a month.

“It's about defending our rights, because now I am about to retire,” Amara De Los Santos, 61, said from a polling station after voting “yes” on the referendum.

DeBre reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina

Alvaro Delgado, presidential candidate for the ruling National Party, votes at a polling station during general elections in Montevideo, Uruguay, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Alvaro Delgado, presidential candidate for the ruling National Party, walks alongside a supporter outside a polling station during general elections in Montevideo, Uruguay, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Referendum ballots sit on a table at a polling station during general elections in Canelones, Uruguay, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

Andres Ojeda, Colorado Party presidential candidate, smiles after voting alongside his nephew at a polling station during general elections in Montevideo, Uruguay, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

Andres Ojeda, Colorado Party presidential candidate, holds up his ballot while looking at his nephew at a polling station during general elections in Montevideo, Uruguay, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

Andres Ojeda, Colorado Party presidential candidate, votes alongside his nephew at a polling station during general elections in Montevideo, Uruguay, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

Frente Amplio presidential candidate Yamandu Orsi, center, talks to a youth after voting in general elections in Canelones, Uruguay, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

Former Uruguayan President Jose "Pepe" Mujica talks to journalists after voting at a polling station during general elections in Montevideo, Uruguay, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Alvaro Delgado, presidential candidate for the ruling National Party, center, greets a supporter outside a polling station during general elections in Montevideo, Uruguay, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

People line up to vote outside a polling station during general elections in Montevideo, Uruguay, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

A woman votes during general elections in Canelones, Uruguay, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

Andres Ojeda, Colorado Party presidential candidate, votes alongside his nephew at a polling station during general elections in Montevideo, Uruguay, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

Alvaro Delgado, presidential candidate for the ruling National Party, holds out his voting document at a polling station during general elections in Montevideo, Uruguay, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Alvaro Delgado, presidential candidate for the ruling National Party, center, poses for a selfie with supporters outside a polling station during general elections in Montevideo, Uruguay, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Frente Amplio presidential candidate Yamandu Orsi gets into a car after voting during general elections in Canelones, Uruguay, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

Political party members rally a day ahead of the general election, in Montevideo, Uruguay, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

A man rests the wall of a promenade ahead of Sunday's general election, in Montevideo, Uruguay, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

FILE - Uruguay's President Luis Lacalle Pou smiles after receiving the presidential sash from outgoing President Tabare Vazquez, in Montevideo, Uruguay, March 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico, File)

A screen shows former President Jose Mujica delivering a message during a rally for Frente Amplio presidential candidate Yamandu Orsi five days ahead of elections in Montevideo, Uruguay, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

Alvaro Delgado, presidential candidate for the ruling National Party, smiles at a rally six days ahead of presidential elections, in Maldonado, Uruguay, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

A supporter of Alvaro Delgado, presidential candidate for the ruling National Party, attends a rally six days ahead of presidential elections, in Maldonado, Uruguay, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

Andres Ojeda, Colorado Party presidential candidate, poses for a photo alongside one of his campaign banners, ahead of Sunday's upcoming general election, in Montevideo, Uruguay, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Supporters of Frente Amplio presidential candidate Yamandu Orsi attend a rally five days ahead of elections in Montevideo, Uruguay, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

Frente Amplio presidential candidate Yamandu Orsi waves to supporters during a rally five days ahead of elections in Montevideo, Uruguay, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

Pedestrians walk past a campaign mural promoting Frente Amplio presidential candidate Yamandu Orsi, ahead of Sunday's upcoming general election, in Montevideo, Uruguay, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

A supporter of Frente Amplio presidential candidate Yamandu Orsi attends a rally five days ahead of elections in Montevideo, Uruguay, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

CLEVELAND (AP) — During an impassioned pregame speech, Jameis Winston asked his Browns teammates to believe.

They do now.

Winston threw a 38-yard touchdown pass — his third of the game — to Cedric Tillman with 59 seconds left as Cleveland stunned Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens 29-24 on Sunday to snap a five-game losing streak.

Making his first start in more than two years and replacing injured starter Deshaun Watson, Winston capped an emotional week for the Browns (2-6) by leading them to an upset of their AFC North rival.

“It felt amazing,” said Winston, who passed for 334 yards.

The improbable win came just days after Watson's third season with Cleveland ended with him rupturing an Achilles tendon. Also, the Browns and their fan base were mourning the loss of beloved play-by-play broadcaster Jim Donovan, who died Saturday following a long battle with cancer.

Following the game, coach Kevin Stefanski told his players he'll present the game ball to Donovan's family.

“This one's for Jim,” Stefanski said.

The Browns had to withstand a late comeback attempt by Jackson, who drove the Ravens (5-3) to Cleveland's 24 in the final seconds. Jackson bought time to avoid sacks and threw two incompletions into the end zone, the second to Zay Flowers as time expired.

When the game ended, Jackson slammed his helmet to the ground in front of Baltimore's bench as the Ravens' five-game winning streak ended with a surprising loss.

“You can look at the Browns’ record and say that’s a sorry team, but this is the NFL,” said Jackson, who completed 23 of 38 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns. “Any week can be your day. We didn’t make the plays. We didn’t make the calls to win the game.”

Winston finished 27 of 41 in his first start since Sept. 25, 2022, for New Orleans. The 30-year-old took over Cleveland's offense this week after Watson went down and provided needed leadership.

Winston did what Watson couldn’t as the Browns scored their most points this season and he eclipsed 300 yards passing, something his teammate hasn’t done in 19 starts in his tumultuous tenure in Cleveland.

“He was very confident in the huddle. He was talking the whole time. Some of the stuff he was saying was a little bit out there, but he was ready to go," guard Joel Bitonio said. "Obviously, he threw the ball well — 300 yards, three touchdowns. The game-winner. He was a lot of energy. But he's been like that since he's been here, so it was expected."

Derrick Henry's 2-yard TD run with 2:36 left gave the Ravens a 24-23 lead, but Winston, who signed a one-year deal as a free agent in March, got some help from Baltimore safety Kyle Hamilton on the game-winning drive.

Winston overthrew Elijah Moore on first down and Hamilton was in perfect position to make the interception but had the ball bounce out of his hands.

“I started praying instantly,” Winston said.

“Oh my God!” Moore said. “The football gods were with us for sure.”

Given new life, on the next play Winston lofted a deep ball down the middle to Tillman, who also caught a 22-yard TD pass in the third quarter.

Before Cleveland put together that last rally, Jackson had engineered a six-play, 91-yard scoring drive with his legs and arms. Henry finished that possession with his short TD to tie Hall of Famer Barry Sanders for 10th place on the career scoring list.

Winston’s performance — he also had a 23-yard TD pass to David Njoku -- gives the Browns some hope in a season that was going sideways. A year ago, Joe Flacco came out of semi-retirement after Watson got hurt and led the Browns to the playoffs.

Winston isn't making any promises.

“A win like this is required to change the season around,” Winston said. “We have a long way to go."

Dustin Hopkins kicked field goals of 28, 33 and 48 yards for the Browns.

UP AND RUNNING

Nick Chubb ran for 52 yards in his second game back after suffering a season-ending knee injury in 2023. He moved into third place on Cleveland’s career rushing list.

Chubb (6,585) passed Mike Pruitt (6,540) on a carry in the first half and now only trails Hall of Famers Jim Brown (12,312) and Leroy Kelly (7,274) in club history.

SCARY MOMENT

Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was immobilized on a back board and carted off late in the third quarter. The team said he was taken to a hospital with a neck injury, but has movement in his extremities.

INJURIES

Ravens: DE Brent Urban sustained a concussion in the first quarter. ... NT Michael Pierce (calf) limped off in the second quarter and didn’t return.

Browns: Top CB Denzel Ward went to the locker room midway through the third quarter for further evaluation for a possible concussion. The team said he has been placed in protocol. Ward has a history of head injuries with five known concussions during his NFL career.

UP NEXT

Ravens: Host Denver on Nov. 3.

Browns: Host the Los Angeles Chargers on Nov. 3.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston (5) celebrates after a win against the Baltimore Ravens in an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Cedric Tillman (19) makes a catch for a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens during the second half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Cedric Tillman (19) celebrates after a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens during the second half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) is tackled by Cleveland Browns defensive end Isaiah McGuire (57) during the first half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) cuts past Cleveland Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (6) during the first half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) throws in from top Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) during the first half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku (85) goes in for a touchdown after a catch over Baltimore Ravens safety Eddie Jackson (39) during the second half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) escapes from Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) during the second half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Cleveland Browns defensive end Za'Darius Smith (99) celebrates a sack of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) during the second half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Cleveland Browns defensive end Za'Darius Smith (99) sacks Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) during the second half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston (5) throws over Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Broderick Washington (96) during the first half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston (5) throws against the Baltimore Ravens during the first half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston (5) celebrates a touchdown pass to wide receiver Cedric Tillman (19) against the Baltimore Ravens during the second half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/David Richard)