By Lucinda Elliott MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) -Voters in South America's laid-back Uruguay, known for its beaches, legalized marijuana and stability, headed to the polls on Sunday for a second-round presidential race between moderates that closes out a bumper year for global elections.

Uruguay is on the cusp of becoming the latest country to oust an incumbent party this year, with violent crime and an economic recovery that has left many behind bolstering the hopes of the leftist opposition candidate in Sunday’s presidential election.

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — 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 runoff after failing to win an outright majority in last month's vote.

People in the small nation of 3.4 million have to choose between the leftist Frente Amplio (Broad Front) candidate Yamandu Orsi and Alvaro Delgado of the National Party, a member of outgoing President Luis Lacalle Pou’s centre-right Republican Coalition.

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.

Voters in South America's laid-backUruguay, 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 will be choosing between two centrist candidates for their next president on Sunday, but the closely fought run-off could be decided by voters who went for an anti-vax radical and other fringe candidates in the first round.