Voters in South America's laid-back Uruguay, known for its beaches, legalized marijuana and stability, will head to the polls on Sunday in a second-round presidential race between moderates that closes out a bumper year of elections.

Uruguayans are returning to the polls for a second round of voting to choose their next president. In Sunday's election, the conservative governing party and the left-leaning coalition locked in a close runoff after failing to win an outright majority in last month’s vote.

Uruguayans will return to the polls on Sunday for a second round of voting to choose their next president, with the conservative governing party and the left-leaning coalition locked in a close run-off after failing to win an outright majority in last month’s vote.

Uruguay is undergoing political dynamics similar to those at work in the rest of Latin America: governments swing from one party to another and there has been a general and increasingly polarized shift to the right .