The celebration of the ruling party in Montevideo for the triumph of the “No” in the referendum

With 100% of the votes counted, there was not enough to achieve the repeal of the 135 articles of the Urgent Consideration Law that were submitted to a referendum last Sunday in Uruguay.

While the count was taking place, members of the Lacalle Pou government waited for the results at the Executive Tower, located in Plaza Independencia (the most important square in Montevideo) and the “No” militants did so in the electoral command at the Radisson Hotel, also in Plaza Independencia.

Several important figures from the centre-right coalition, the well-known “multicolor coalition” that has a parliamentary majority, were present there. Among them were Graciela Bianchi (Senator of the National Party), Guido Manini Rios (senator of Cabildo Abierto), Juan Sartori (Senator of the National Party), Pablo Iturralde (President of the National Party) and Laura Raffo (President of the Montevideo Department of the National Party), among others. 300 people were accredited on this occasion.

After the results began to be known, the rest of the “No” activists (those who were not accredited to the event) began to arrive in the vicinity of the Executive Tower to begin the celebration. There they raised flags and posters, sang and gathered together in a festive atmosphere.

At the Radisson, the ballot continued to be awaited and, once it was evident that the “No” ballot had triumphed, they celebrated the results there. Then, they joined what was happening in Plaza Independencia.

At 23:15, the Electoral Court reported that with 97.93% of the circuits examined, the option for “Yes” added 1,043,859 votes and the option for “No” 1,064,950, indicating a difference of 21,091 votes. The blank vote totaled 28,170 votes that were added to the “No” option, increasing the difference to 49,261.

Some 85 per cent of those eligible to vote participated in the referendum, which numbered 2,684,131. Therefore, it is estimated that more than 2,250,000 Uruguayans voted.

President Lacalle Pou gave a press conference before the end of Sunday and, on a screen in Plaza Independencia itself, the president could be seen speaking. He spoke without 100% of the votes counted, in fact the count was 98.47% of the total votes when the conference began.

He shared the table with the Vice President of the Republic, Beatriz Argimón, the Deputy Secretary of the Presidency, Rodrigo Ferrés, the Secretary of the Presidency, Álvaro Delgado. Behind it, the entire cabinet of ministers stood.

He began by stating that, at that point, “it could be clearly established that the votes necessary for the repeal” of the 135 articles of the Urgent Consideration Act were not reached. He recalled that the bill was disseminated before it was introduced in Parliament and that it was “a negotiated bill”.

“There were a huge number of articles (279 out of 476) that were modified. They were modified because there was dialogue as it exists in Parliament. We claim the national Parliament as the place where a synthesis of different opinions is made. The government did not come up with a bill, a text and said that this is what is going to be voted on because we have 56 deputies and 18 senators. No, it was a majority that listened, talked and modified. (The LUC) is a law designed for the good of all Uruguayans. We are convinced that it gives more rights, more freedoms and more guarantees,” Lacalle Pou said in front of the cameras.

For his part, after the results were known, the president of the Frente Amplio, Fernando Pereira, said that “what can be said clearly is that half of Uruguayan society that does not agree with this form of legislation”.

The militants for the “Yes” campaign gathered not far from those of the “No”. They were waiting for the results in the esplanade of the City Hall of Montevideo, blocks from Plaza Independencia.

“It should be a signal taken regardless of the end result. If it were a majority, we would repeal a law, but if it were not, the government has to take note of the central aspects that were taken in the campaign,” Pereira told TV Ciudad.

Prior to the results, around 22:30 hours, he took the stage to say that “at this time nobody knows who won, at this time there is a technical draw, at this time we Uruguayans show that half of us are on this side”.

In that instance, he added that: “I don't know how those who thought it was a referendum against the government will now explain how little support they have had. I don't know how they will explain it, with all the power, with the press conference, with all the media, with all the structure in their favor, we made an even match for them. With 15 more minutes we earned it, we would surely earn it.”

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