Uruguay's local government elections, held on May 16, 2005, to elect the "intendente" of the 19 departments that are the administrative divisions of Uruguay, resulted in major gains for the newly elected "Frente Amplio" government, and heavy losses for the opposition "Partido Nacional" and "Partido Colorado".
The "Frente Amplio" (left-wing) had won with an overwhelming margin the presidential and parliamentary elections on October 31, 2004, putting an end to the classic bipartisan competition and alternation in power of the "Partido Colorado" and the "Partido Nacional" (centre and centre right).
In the municipal elections of May 2000, the "Partido Nacional" had won 13 departments, the "Partido Colorado" five departments, and the "Frente Amplio" one department. As a result of the municipal elections of 2005, the "Partido Nacional" won 10 departments, the "Frente Amplio" eight, and the "Partido Colorado" one. The "Frente Amplio" had a net gain of seven departments, the "Partido Colorado" had a net loss of four departments and the "Partido Nacional" had a net loss of three departments.
List of winning candidates for "intendente".
Following is a list of the departments in Uruguay, with the name of the "intendente" elected, his party affiliation and the faction within the party to which he belongs: