Mongolian PM declares victory in polls dominated by corruption, economy

Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene declared victory early Saturday in parliamentary elections, after a contest dominated by deepening public anger over corruption and the state of the economy.

People across the vast, sparsely populated nation of 3.4 million, sandwiched between China and Russia, voted Friday to elect 126 members of the State Great Khural.

With 100 percent of votes counted by machine, the prime minister told a press conference in the capital Ulaanbaatar a few hours after polls closed that his ruling Mongolian People's Party had won a majority of seats.

"According to the pre-results, the Mongolian People's Party has 68 to 70 seats," he said.

The vote, he said, represented a "new page" in "democratic debate."

"This is the peoples' voice heard in the parliament," he said.

The votes are also being counted by hand to ensure accuracy, and an official result was expected on Saturday.

If the preliminary results hold, the MPP will see its overall share of parliamentary seats fall, from a supermajority of 79 percent in 2020 to around 54 percent in the new one.

Results tallied by local media outlet Ikon based on official data also showed the MPP winning 68 seats, with the main opposition Democratic Party winning 42.

The minor anti-corruption HUN party won eight, Ikon reported.

Voter turnout was 69.3 percent nationally, a screen at the country's Electoral Commission headquarters showed.

Julian Dierkes, a professor at the University of British Columbia and an expert on Mongolian politics, wrote that "everything points to a reduced MPP majority with a surprisingly strong showing" by the Democratic Party.

"The relatively strong turnout also suggests that desire for some change," he added.

- Deep frustration -

Analysts had expected the MPP to retain the majority it has enjoyed since 2016 and govern for another four years.

They say the party can credit much of its success to a boom in coal mining that fuelled double-digit growth and dramatically improved standards of living, as well as to a formidable party machine and a weak, fractured opposition.

Yet there is deep public frustration over endemic corruption, as well as the high cost of living and lack of opportunities for young people who make up almost two-thirds of the population.

There is also a widespread belief that the proceeds of the coal-mining boom are being hoarded by a wealthy elite -- a view that has sparked frequent protests.

Tsagaantsooj Dulamsuren, a 36-year-old cashier pregnant with her fourth child, told AFP that the election offered her a chance to "give power to the candidates you really want to support".

"I want lawmakers to provide more infrastructure development... and more jobs in the manufacturing industry for young people," she said outside a polling station at a hospital near the capital.

- Broad spectrum -

The streets of Ulaanbaatar, home to almost half of Mongolia's population, have been decked out this week with colourful campaign posters touting candidates from across the political spectrum, from populist businessmen to nationalists, environmentalists and socialists.

Parties are required by law to ensure that 30 percent of candidates are women in a country where politics is dominated by men.

Preliminary results Saturday suggested that 25 percent of seats in the new parliament would be held by women -- up from 17 percent in 2020.

Long lines snaked around corridors at a polling station in a school in downtown Ulaanbaatar, with many voters wearing traditional clothing.

Oyun-Erdene voted in a kindergarten in the capital, an AFP reporter saw.

Batsaikan Battseren, a 45-year-old community leader dressed in traditional Mongolian deel clothing, said he was urging people to vote.

"Our area's average participation is 60 percent," the former herder said at a polling station in rural Sergelen, an administrative division more than an hour's drive from the capital.

However, "young people from 18 to 30 years old don't go to vote", he said.

The MPP is the successor to the communist party that ruled Mongolia with an iron grip for almost 70 years.

It remains popular, particularly among rural, older voters, and commands a sprawling, nationwide campaign apparatus.

But under  Oyun-Erdene's premiership, Mongolia has plummeted in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.

It has also fallen in press freedom rankings and campaigners say there has been a notable decline in the rule of law.