(Bloomberg) -- Former governor Yamandu Orsi tapped political rival Carolina Cosse as his running mate late Sunday after winning the left-wing Broad Front’s presidential primary election that day.

Orsi received 60% of the Broad Front vote, followed by Montevideo governor Cosse with 37%, according to the results from almost 88% of voting stations compiled by the Electoral Court at 12:20 a.m. Monday local time.

Orsi, 57, pledged to unite Uruguayans to win the presidency in a speech delivered to Broad Front supporters at the party’s headquarters in the capital Montevideo.

“Together with Carolina, together with our Broad Front we’re head to victory,” Orsi said in comments broadcast over the party’s YouTube channel.

Uruguay’s largest opposition party, which ruled from 2005 to 2020, is seeking to unseat the center-right coalition led by President Luis Lacalle Pou who is barred by law from seeking a second consecutive term. The Broad Front’s policy program includes proposals to reduce inequality, overhaul the social security system and raise taxes on the rich.

While Uruguay’s economy is forecast to grow about 3% this year, annual growth has averaged just 1% since 2015 due to the pandemic, drought and low investment. The unemployment rate hit a multiyear high of 9% in April and murders, often linked to drug gangs, make headlines with disturbing frequency in this otherwise peaceful South American country.

Participation in Sunday’s primaries was voluntary with about 35% of Uruguay’s approximately 2.7 million registered voters casting ballots. Eighteen parties were authorized by the Electoral Court to hold primaries, including members of the ruling coalition comprised of Lacalle Pou’s National Party, Colorado Party, Independent Party and Open Forum.

Alvaro Delgado, a former lawmaker who served as a senior member of Lacalle Pou’s cabinet, won the National Party primary with 75%, followed by economist Laura Raffo with 19%. Delgado has pledged to build on Lacalle Pou’s pro-business policies to put Uruguay on the path to become the first developed country in Latin America.

Speaking in a televised address, Delgado said he would lead the coalition to a second term in government, with former union boss Valeria Ripoll as his running mate. 

Primary winners will compete in general elections Oct. 27 where all seats in Congress are also up for grabs. If no candidate wins an absolute majority, a runoff election between the top two candidates would be held in November. Recent polls give the Broad Front a three-to-five-point advantage over the sum of the ruling coalition parties. 

--With assistance from Jon Herskovitz.

(Updates with latest voting numbers, Delgado speech paragraph nine.)

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