Center-left opposition candidate Yamandu Orsi secured victory in Uruguay's presidential election, official results showed on Sunday, with 99% of votes tallied, in a second-round race that pollsters expected to be closely fought.

The candidate of the conservative coalition that has governed for the past five years conceded defeat after a tight runoff, as Uruguay joined others around the world in rebuking the incumbent party in a year of landmark elections.

Left-wing politician Yamandú Orsi is poised to become the next president of Uruguay after his main challenger in the runoff conceded defeat Sunday and even the outgoing leader of the South American co