Uruguayans vote in presidential polls

Uruguayans have gone to the polls to elect their president with the ex-guerrilla leader Jose Mujica from the incumbent Broad Front party in the lead.

Mujica, who has promised to keep the economic policies of the country's ruling coalition of President Tabare Vazquez, needs 50 percent of the vote in the first round to avoid a November 29 runoff against either of his main rivals.

“There is a brutal increase of undecided voters, because some people in the center have doubts about the behavior of Mujica in the government,” Ignacio Zuasnabar, an analyst at pollster Equipos Mori, told Bloomberg in a telephone interview.

Next to Mujica comes Luis Lacalle, 68, a conservative former president who represents the National Party.

Pedro Bordaberry, 49, is the third presidential contender who is from the Colorado Party. He is the son of the country's 1973-1975 dictator, Juan Maria Bordaberry.

Mujica, nicknamed 'Pepe', enjoys 45 percent of support among voters, compared to 29 percent owned by Lacalle, according to an October 21 poll by Montevideo-based Grupo Radar.

As a former guerrilla leader, the 74-year-old Mujica has been shot nine times and have escaped prison twice during the military dictatorship.

Mujica's possible win is seen by many as the vindication for his long suffering under the dictatorship.

About 2.6 million Uruguayans have registered to cast their ballots in Sunday's election.

Polls are due to close at 7:30 pm (2130 GMT) with first unofficial exit survey results expected to be announced after 8:30 pm (2230 GMT).