The leading contenders in Uruguay’s presidential election say voters in the small South American nation had sent the race to a run-off in November

Yamandú Orsi, a center-left former mayor, finished first on Sunday but fell short of the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid another round of voting.

Early exit polls after Uruguay's presidential election on Sunday suggest the center-left opposition candidate Yamandu Orsi was ahead of his conservative rival, Alvaro Delgado, with a second round likely needed in November for a head-to-head photo finish.