Mongolians yesterday began voting for a new president amid COVID-19 restrictions and efforts to revive the economy of the vast landlocked nation of just 3 million people.
The winner would be Mongolia’s sixth president since the peaceful transition from communism to democracy in 1992. Incumbent Battulga Khaltmaa of the Democratic Party is barred by the constitution from seeking a second six-year term.
Among the candidates, former prime minister Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh of the Mongolian People’s Party (MPP), which exercises a strong majority in parliament, has raised concerns about a possible strengthening of the military’s involvement in public affairs due to his background with the armed forces.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The MPP also controls the Cabinet and Khurelsukh’s biggest rival, Sodnomzunduin Erdene, of the much-weakened Democratic Party, has warned that the MPP winning the presidency would threaten Mongolia with dictatorship.
Former tech CEO Dangaasurengiin Enkhbat of the smaller National Labor Party is running as a third-party candidate.
The presidency is a largely ceremonial position, although it does include powers over the military and the right to veto legislation in some cases. Power is mainly vested in the parliament, the Cabinet and the office of the prime minister.
Photo: Reuters
A total of 2,151,329 voters are registered, the General Election Commission said.
Polls close at 10pm and it was not clear when a winner would be announced.
Voters are required to observe social distancing and restrictions on public gatherings have severely curtailed campaign events, prompting candidates to shift much of their outreach to voters online.
Mongolia’s already ailing economy has been thrown into crisis due to the pandemic, with 69,022 cases and 324 deaths reported and the number of new local infections hitting a daily record last week.
That has forced the temporary closure of markets and other enterprises in the capital, Ulan Bator, to which many in the traditionally herding population have moved in recent years.
Corruption and pandemic-related disruptions in demand for Mongolia’s chief exports, such as coal and copper, are also dragging on the economy.
Drug lord Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, alias “Fito,” was Ecuador’s most-wanted fugitive before his arrest on Wednesday, more than a year after he escaped prison from where he commanded the country’s leading criminal gang. The former taxi driver turned crime boss became the prime target of law enforcement early last year after escaping from a prison in the southwestern port of Guayaquil. Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa’s government released “wanted” posters with images of his face and offered US$1 million for information leading to his capture. In a country plagued by crime, members of Fito’s gang, Los Choneros, have responded with violence, using car
Two former Chilean ministers are among four candidates competing this weekend for the presidential nomination of the left ahead of November elections dominated by rising levels of violent crime. More than 15 million voters are eligible to choose today between former minister of labor Jeannette Jara, former minister of the interior Carolina Toha and two members of parliament, Gonzalo Winter and Jaime Mulet, to represent the left against a resurgent right. The primary is open to members of the parties within Chilean President Gabriel Boric’s ruling left-wing coalition and other voters who are not affiliated with specific parties. A recent poll by the
TENSIONS HIGH: For more than half a year, students have organized protests around the country, while the Serbian presaident said they are part of a foreign plot About 140,000 protesters rallied in Belgrade, the largest turnout over the past few months, as student-led demonstrations mount pressure on the populist government to call early elections. The rally was one of the largest in more than half a year student-led actions, which began in November last year after the roof of a train station collapsed in the northern city of Novi Sad, killing 16 people — a tragedy widely blamed on entrenched corruption. On Saturday, a sea of protesters filled Belgrade’s largest square and poured into several surrounding streets. The independent protest monitor Archive of Public Gatherings estimated the
Irish-language rap group Kneecap on Saturday gave an impassioned performance for tens of thousands of fans at the Glastonbury Festival despite criticism by British politicians and a terror charge for one of the trio. Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged under the UK’s Terrorism Act with supporting a proscribed organization for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London in November last year. The rapper, who was charged under the anglicized version of his name, Liam O’Hanna, is on unconditional bail before a further court hearing in August. “Glastonbury,