MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Opinion polls show Uruguayan opposition leading vote intention

Pre electoral atmosphere in Uruguayan political parties

According to the latest public opinion poll published in the Montevideo press, the Uruguayan ruling coalition is loosing ground in vote intention, --although still high--, while the main party opposition keeps advancing.

The Interconsult poll shows that the three opposition parties with parliamentary representation added up have a comfortable lead over the ruling Broad Front, twelve months ahead of Uruguay's national elections scheduled for the last Sunday of October 2009. The ruling coalition of President Tabare Vazquez in the midst of an acrimonious struggle over who will succeed him polled 40% vote intention, two points down from the previous poll while the Partido Nacional in its steady climb reached 36%. The Partido Colorado figures with 8% and the Independent party with 2%, so if the three opposition forces are teamed up they have a clear several points majority over the ruling coalition for the first time in the almost four years of the President Vazquez administration. In the previous Inconsult poll a month ago the three opposition parties and the ruling coalition were even. According to the adjoining report the squabbling between presidential hopefuls, Senators Jose Mujica and Danilo Astori, and President Vazquez own re-election aspirations, not completely denied, seem to have confused and distanced much of the independent electorate and not strictly identified with the government's ideological standing. The ruling coalition has two very strong presidential hopefuls and contrary to what was expected originally both insist in leading the ticket. A congress of the government's parties next month, where supposedly the presidential candidate should be approved by consensus promises to be an out right battle, with possible repercussions in the future ahead of the 2009 election.