The polling stations closed in Uruguay and the polls began to open, but there were no voters in the elections that today will elect the presidential candidates for the elections on October 27, reports Prensa Latina.
They are the internal Uruguayan ones, mandatory for the 18 participating parties, but voluntary for the two million 766 thousand 323 citizens authorized by the Electoral Court to exercise the vote.
The closing of the electoral circuits was set for 19:30 p.m. The last measurement by the Electoral Court was over 36 percent.
At this point, these internal elections seem to have the lowest voter turnout.
The previous one, in 2019, reached 40 percent, but five years before it was 37 percent, the lowest figure so far, although apparently it will no longer be a record.
The topic predominated in the press's questions to the candidates and other references.
The incidence of cold, the beginning of the so-called Julian holidays, citizen apathy, football, were some of the factors discussed.
President Luis Lacalle Pou recognized the need to review the current system, something that former president José Mujica agreed on, the first to vote at his school at around 08:00 a.m. local time.
However, the pre-candidate for the National Party, Jorge Gandini, defended the current regulations under the argument that they are partisan elections and citizens cannot be forced to join compulsorily.
At the heart of the discussion is representativeness in this type of election, which has nothing to do with participation in which the Presidency and the composition of Parliament are decided, as will happen next October.
