[1] The formally called elecciones internas (Spanish for 'Internal elections') are the first stage of the electoral system established by the Constitution of 1997.
[5] In order to win the primary election and be proclaimed a presidential candidate, the pre-candidate must obtain an absolute majority of the party's valid votes.
[8] According to the opinion polls,[9] the political landscape remained stable, due to the fact that most serious candidates had already run on the previous election.
[10] In the ruling coalition Broad Front, former president Tabare Vazquez who had left office in 2010 with approval ratings above 60%, was challenged by senator Constanza Moreira.
The major surprise was the rise of representative Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou from the conservative faction of the National Party, and his narrow victory over the more liberal former presidential candidate and senator Jorge Larrañaga:[11] Many other smaller parties, most of them newly created, also took part in the elections and put forward presidential condidates: