Senate of Uruguay in the context of José Mujica

General elections were held in Uruguay on 31 October 2004, alongside a constitutional referendum. The result was a victory for the Broad Front, marking the first time a party other than the Colorado Party or National Party had held power since the two parties were formed in the 1830s.

Broad Front leader Tabaré Vázquez was elected president on his third attempt after his party won just over 50% of the vote, enough for him to win the presidency in a single round. To date, this is the only time that a presidential election has been decided without a runoff since the two-round system was introduced in 1999. The Broad Front also won majorities in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

General elections were held in Uruguay on 25 October 2009 alongside a two-part referendum. As no candidate for president received more than 50% of the vote, a second round was held on 29 November between the top two candidates, José Mujica of the ruling Broad Front (who received 48% of the vote) and former president Luis Alberto Lacalle of the National Party (29%). Mujica won the run-off with 55% of the vote.

In the parliamentary elections, the Broad Front retained its majorities in both chambers, winning 16 of the 30 seats in the senators and 50 of the 99 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The National Party finished second with 9 senators and 30 deputies, the Colorado Party third with 5 Senators and 17 Deputies, and the Independent Party fourth with 2 deputies.