Mujica wins Uruguay presidency

Jose Mujica from the ruling Broad Front Party has won Uruguay's presidential election.

Exit polls gave Mujica, a blunt-talking former guerrilla fighter, more than 50 percent of the vote while his rival, conservative former president Luis Alberto Lacalle, trailed with around 45 percent.

Mujica's victory keeps the center-left coalition in power for another five years. The 74 year old was one of the leaders of the Tupamaros urban guerrilla movement in the 1960s and 1970s.

His unconventional past deterred some voters, but he received support from others, due to his pledge to continue current economic policies.

They include encouraging foreign investment, reducing unemployment and enhancing minority rights.