Uruguayans go to the polls on Sunday to elect a successor from among the three leading candidates to President Jose Mujica, who is barred by law from running for a second consecutive term.

The latest pre-election poll found the ruling Broad Front (FA) party's candidate Tabare Vazquez leads the race with 41 percent voter support, followed by the right-wing National Party (PN)'s Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou with 28 percent, and the conservative Colorado Party (PC)'s Pedro Bordaberry, with 15 percent.

The 74-year-old Vazquez, an oncologist, had been president from 2005 to 2010. His administration strove for reducing poverty, improving education and working conditions, and expanding welfare coverage.

Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou is a son of ex-president Luis Alberto Lacalle, who served between 1990 and 1995. Graduating with a law degree, the 41-year-old lawyer and legislator served two terms as a deputy representing the department of Canelones, and gained more prominence as president of the Chamber of Deputies in 2011. While the PN has traditionally been considered right-wing, the junior Lacalle has posited himself as more of a moderate conservative.

Pedro Bordaberry, 54, is a lawyer and a son of former President Juan Maria Bordaberry, who imposed more than a decade of military rule. The junior Bordaberry ran unsuccessfully for president in 2009, but was elected to the Senate the same year. He served as minister of tourism, energy and sports.

No candidate is expected to win an absolute majority in the first round, with the probability that Vazquez and Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou will go on to a runoff on Nov. 30.