MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Uruguayans will return to the polls on Sunday for a second round of voting to choose their next president, with 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.

Uruguay's leftist opposition candidate, Yamandú Orsi, claimed victory in a tight presidential runoff Sunday, ousting the conservative governing coalition and making the South American nation the latest to rebuke the incumbent party in a year of landmark elections.

Uruguay's next president is a former history teacher who swapped the classroom for local government -- and will now lead the nation of 3.4 million following his Sunday win at the polls.