The candidate for the ruling center-right government, Alvaro Delgado, conceded defeat to his left-wing rival Yamandu Orsi following a tight race. Orsi is a political heir to former leftist President Jose Mujica.

The candidate of the conservative coalition that has governed for the past five years conceded defeat after a tight runoff, as Uruguay joined others around the world in rebuking the incumbent party in a year of landmark elections.

A political heir to former President Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-Marxist guerilla who became a global icon for transforming Uruguay into one of the most liberal and environmentally sustainable nations in the region,