On Sunday 2.6 million Uruguayan registered voters will decide who will be their next president plus 30 Senators and 99 Lower House members. If no presidential candidate makes 50% of valid ballots plus one, the most probable result a run off takes place at the end of November between the two most voted candidates.
Uruguay president Jose Mujica believes that the next parliament to emerge from the 26 October general election will have a difficult conformation, complicating the government's performance and that is the reason why he accepted to run for a Senate seat.
Uruguay's ruling coalition and the main opposition National party have finally worked out their presidential tickets for October's general election, following on the results, and subsequent negotiations, of the June first primary elections.
Yet more surprises from last Sunday's primaries in Uruguay to choose candidates for the October presidential election. Not only did the main opposition vote overwhelmingly for renewal, but now it has emerged that in the ruling coalition, which suffers from a generation of Jurassic leaders, a young challenger has emerged as the most voted and is now demanding a place in the presidential ticket.
Uruguay and Argentina presidents Jose Mujica and Cristina Fernandez seem to have ironed out differences, at least in public and in the pictures, during the inauguration of a gasoline and diesel de-sulphuring plant in Montevideo, which was financed with Venezuelan funds and Argentine technology.
The Uruguayan government announced the discovery of free hydrocarbons liquids in core samples next to source rocks in the northern county of Salto at a depth of 450 metres, which seems to be similar to another discovery two years ago.
Uruguay has formally requested Pope Francis to receive President Jose Mujica when he travels at the end of the month to China, Spain and Italy. Mujica is an agnostic and Uruguay is one of the few Latinamerican countries in which the Catholic Church has been separated from the State for almost a century.
UK’s BP, BG Group, London-based Tullow Oil and French oil major Total were awarded a total of eight offshore blocks in an Uruguayan bidding round and will invest 1.56 billion dollars in exploration of those areas, state energy company Ancap announced.
Nine oil and gas companies have submitted 19 bids to explore for hydrocarbons off the coast of Uruguay, the state energy company Ancap said on Thursday.
Uruguay’s hydrocarbons refining company Ancap signed on Tuesday an agreement with US company Schuepbach Energy to begin exploration for oil and gas in the north and centre of the country.