Mongolia's opposition MPP seen sweeping back to power in polls- story by Reuters

The main opposition Mongolian People's Party (MPP) appears to have swept back to power in parliamentary elections, Mongolian media said early on Thursday, after campaigning dominated by concern over slowing economic growth.

The transformation of the former Soviet bloc state since a peaceful revolution in 1990 has been a big draw for foreign investors eyeing its rich mineral resources, unleashing a boom from 2010 to 2012.

But an abrupt economic slowdown since 2012 has stirred controversy over the role of global mining firms such as Rio Tinto, which last month finally approved a $5.3-billion extension plan for the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine.

The MPP, which last ruled from 2008 to 2012, is likely to have won most seats in the 76-member parliament, taking back power from the Democratic Party, leading Mongolian news websites news.mn and Ikon reported.

The government was expected to formally announce the final results of Wednesday's vote later on Thursday morning.

Stability during the MPP's rule helped lure investors to Mongolia, a vast country with just three million people that was nicknamed "Mine-golia" in the boom years.

But it has since struggled to adapt to giant neighbor China's reduced appetite for coal and copper, which has hit commodities prices.

The IMF forecasts economic growth of 0.4 percent this year, compared with 17.5 percent in 2011, the year before the Democratic Party took power.

Since 2012, Mongolia has borrowed billions of dollars in sovereign debt. In March, rating agency Moody's gave it a negative outlook, citing the rising debt burden, a projected widening of budgetary imbalances and mining revenue shortfalls.

The MPP, which has held power most years since 1990, has criticized the Democrats' economic management and the borrowing spree, promising to reassess spending and tighten fiscal management.

  

(

Sponsored 

Read More

Mongolia's opposition returns to power after landslide victory

The Mongolian People’s Party is returning to power after a four year-hiatus after a landslide victory in elections that focused voters’ attention on slowing economic growth and a doubling of external debt by the ruling party.

The opposition MPP won 63 seats in the 76-seat Great Hural, according to preliminary results reported by party Chairman Enkhbold Miyegombo in the early hours of Thursday. Democratic Party leader Enkhbold Zandaakhuu conceded defeat on behalf of his party. Voter turnout was 70.4 percent, according to a preliminary report by the General Election Commission.

“The Mongolian people have made their choice. We respect this decision,” said the ruling party’s Enkhbold. “The last four years have been difficult. I congratulate the MPP and the ten or so DP winners. I’ll take responsibility for this loss.”

The election was largely billed as referendum on the $12 billion economy, after GDP growth tumbled from 17.3 percent in 2011 to just 2.3 percent last year. While much of that decline can be attributed to slowing growth in China and weak prices for Mongolia’s major exports, coal and copper, voters also blame the government for missteps and rising debt. The MPP had also called on voters to reject the DP’s spending plan, which doubled external debt in four years.

Debt Due

With elections now behind them, the MPP is expected to curb spending as the country prepares to tackle around $1 billion in debt coming due in 2017 and early 2018. While a delay in the construction of the giant Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine has been a factor in the slowing growth, Mongolia has still managed to access credit markets.

A number of prominent DP incumbents failed to hold on to their seats, including Enkhbold and Prime Minister Saikhanbileg Chimed. Popular singer Samand Javkhlan won a seat as an independent, as did a candidate from the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party.

The MPP ruled Mongolia uncontested for 69 years during the country’s communist era, when it was known as the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party. Wednesday’s election was the largest win by a party since the MPP won 72 seats in the 2000 election.

Source:Bloomberg

Read More

Mongolian opposition set for landslide win as economy struggles

Ulan Bator (AFP) - Mongolia's main opposition was set for a landslide win in national elections, official preliminary results showed Thursday, as voters rejected economic policies that have left the sprawling, sparsely populated country struggling.

??Squeezed between Vladimir Putin's Russia and Communist China, Mongolia prides itself on its democracy, but voters expressed frustration with poor governance and a weakened economy in the face of slumping demand from its southern neighbour.

The contest largely came down to a choice between the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and opposition Mongolian People's Party (MPP), a holdover from the country's socialist past that has traditionally commanded a loyal following among older voters.?

Hours after the 10 pm (1300 GMT) close of the polls, preliminary vote counts showed the MPP winning 63 out of the country's 76 provinces, with two areas yet to declare and full results to be announced Thursday morning.

The preliminary results, released by the Mongolian general election committee, are based on an electronic tally of all votes and are not confirmed until the ballots have been counted by hand.

At a press conference, MPP chairman Miyegombiin Enkhbold thanked the party's supporters.

"The people of Mongolia have just given great trust to the MPP," he said, adding that the party "understands that this trust is a huge responsibility."

Many voters saw little difference between the two parties, who ran on largely similar platforms, heavy on bromides about economic development but light on concrete proposals.

But the electorate still turned against the DP, delivering a stinging rebuke of its failed economic policies and sending down the party's candidates by huge margins -- in some cases by almost two votes to one.

Voters also soundly rejected independent candidates, with only one out of 69 candidates selected.

In a statement following the results, the leader of the DP said his party will respect the people's will, easing fears that the country might see a repeat of 2008 riots following accusations of vote tampering.

? Voter anger ?

Despite weak early turnout, participation levels ended at around 70 percent across the country, according to Mongolia's Eagle News.

The number wa a slight uptick from 2012 levels, bucking analysts' expectations that voting could hit an all-time low.??

Turnout has declined each election cycle, a trend that experts attribute to increased scepticism of the country's political class.

?According to pre-election polling by the International Republic Institute, over 60 percent of Mongolians felt the country was headed in the wrong direction.

??"As the economic crises persist, there's considerable mistrust in the political system," Morris Rossabi, an expert on Mongolia at Columbia University, told AFP.

Voters were "facing increasing disillusionment with political parties," Rossabi added.

Mongolia's vast natural resources have drawn the attention of multinational mining giants, such as Anglo-Australian Rio Tinto, which has a multi-billion-dollar copper and gold project at Oyu Tolgoi in the southeast.

But political disputes over the role of foreign investment and slowing growth in Mongolia's largest trading partner China have stymied development.?

In the run up to the election, many voters expressed anger at the DP's inability to live up to its promises to turn Mongolia into a prosperous nation when it took power following the last election in 2012.

After the DP came to power, the country's world-leading growth of 17.3 percent in 2011 quickly fell, dropping to an anemic 2.3 percent last year.?

Speaking earlier in the day, mother of three Shatariin Chahdal told AFP said that she had voted for an independent, but hoped that regardless of who won, the new government "would focus on creating new jobs rather than delivering cash handouts."

Source:AFP

Read More

Opposition party wins in the Mongolian election

According to preliminary results of the Wednesday's election, opposition Mongolian People's Party or MPP won landslide victory. 

It won 62 seats of the 76-seat parliament known as State Great Khural and ruling Democratic Party or DP won 12 seats and MPRP or Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, offshoot of MPP won 1 seat and independent candidate or popular singer Javkhlan is elected into the parliament. 

Source:Moninfo

Read More

Sluggish Economy Casts Shadow Over Mongolians Elections

• By GRACE BROWN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
 

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia — Jun 28, 2016, 5:06 AM ET

Mongolians vote in parliamentary elections Wednesday with sentiment weighed by a sharp downturn in the landlocked Asian nation's crucial mining sector, rising unemployment and political disillusionment.

The Democratic Party could lose its majority in parliament, known as the State Great Khural, to the opposition Mongolian People's Party a year ahead of the 2017 presidential election. But with no major policy offerings on the table and an economy pummeled by the global slump in commodity prices, it's unclear what options Mongolia has for reviving its fortunes.

The parliamentary elections are the seventh since the country made a peaceful transition to democracy in 1990. Yet disillusionment with the political process in the country — recently dubbed "an oasis of democracy" by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry — is growing among younger voters, whose turnout has steadily declined in recent years.

Amgalan Sukh-Ochir, 30, who works in marketing, said he plans to boycott the elections.

"In the last elections when the DP made all these great promises for prospering, I decided to support them, but look where we are now. I don't think they've achieved much," he said.

Mongolia's mining- and animal herding-dependent economy has been dragged down by weak domestic demand and a sharp decline in exports, impoverishing thousands of former herders who had moved to its few cities looking for jobs. Economic growth has slipped from 17.5 percent in 2011 to just 2.3 percent last year in the resource-rich nation of 3 million people, one-fifth of whom live in poverty.

Both the ruling Democratic Party and its main rival have campaigned on the promise of more jobs.

"The main issue is, No. 1, to revive the economy," said Bulgantuya Khurelbaatar, secretary of the opposition Mongolian People's Party. She said the party aims to build 100 factories in 21 provinces that would create about 40,000 new jobs, though she didn't say how.

It's unclear what measures or resources are available to stimulate the flagging economy.

Coal, copper and other mineral resources make up 94 percent of Mongolia's exports. But with demand in China weakening as its economy cools, Mongolia's own growth is forecast to fall below 1 percent this year.

Foreign investment in the country has slowed to a trickle, though mining giant Rio Tinto announced in May the launch of the next stage of a multibillion-dollar gold and copper mine. Still, critics of government agreements with mining companies complain that too little of Mongolia's mineral wealth benefits the general public.

Some observers see recent changes to the electoral process as handicapping smaller parties and female candidates.

"They have closed some space for smaller political parties, as majoritarian systems do tend to benefit two main political parties," said Ashleigh Whelan, country director for the International Republican Institute, a U.S.-based group with the stated aim of promoting democracy globally.

"This can reduce the opportunity for lesser-known candidates, new candidates, youth, women and those candidates who may not be a guarantee in terms of winning," Whelan said. Her organization does not expect either party to secure an overwhelming majority.

In its latest National Human Development Report, the United Nations Development Program found that only about 45 percent of Mongolians aged 18-34 have voted in recent elections, compared to an overall turnout of 65 percent in 2012.

Skepticism has grown after the ruling party recently offered citizens 300,000 tugriks ($155) to sell 30 percent of their promised shares in the state-owned coal mine, Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi. So far 1.2 million of 1.65 million shareholders have applied to sell their shares to the government.

"I think it's illegal to tell you the truth," said Khurelbaatar of the opposition party. "This is right before elections . it seems to all political parties that they're actually trying to buy off votes."

The Democratic Party did not respond to requests for comment.

Source:AP

Read More

Mongolians divided on eve of hotly contested elections

With voters fed up by a flailing economy, alternative parties have sprung up to challenge the traditional rulers.

Erdenebat Danzan from the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party addresses supporters at a campaign rally [Ganbat Namjilsangarav/Al Jazeera]

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia - Campaigning for national elections on Wednesday has divided Mongolia as a record number of candidates vie for seats in parliament and local councils.

While suffering through the worst economic crisis since 2008, 12 different parties and three separate coalitions are jousting for power with the economy and foreign debt repayment topping the list of voter concerns.

The General Election Commission of Mongolia said 498 candidates are running for 76 seats in parliament, known as the State Great Khural. An additional 2,288 candidates are attempting to secure local council jobs.

Any party or coalition that wins a majority of parliamentary seats forms the government and appoints the prime minister.

In the capital and major cities, election banners and life-sized portraits of various candidates line the main streets, buildings, and houses.

With so many potential leaders to choose from, some here are overwhelmed.

"This year's election is very confusing. There are way too many candidates and it is hard to decide to whom to vote for," Bolormaa, an accountant who goes by one name like many Mongolians, told Al Jazeera.

Mongolians walk past an election poster featuring Enkhbold Zandaakhuu, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party and speaker of parliament [Ganbat Namjilsangarav/Al Jazeera]

For most the moribund economy is the main election issue. Mongolia's economy consists mainly of mining for coal, copper, gold, and other ores. Non-commercial agriculture and livestock production also make up a small portion.

China is Mongolia's largest trading partner and investor, absorbing about 80 percent of its exports. As the Chinese economy has slowed, demand for Mongolian coal dropped, halting growth.

Campaigning has largely focused on generating much-needed jobs.

Historically in Mongolia power shifts between two major parties - the Mongolian People's Party (MPP) and the Democratic Party (DP), which has ruled for the past four years.

The power base of Democrats is Mongolia's urban areas and the capital Ulaanbaatar, where country's burgeoning middle class and business entrepreneurs live.

Foreign debt burden

The main opposition MPP says the livelihoods of ordinary Mongolians have deteriorated sharply in the past four years. It accused the government of racking up foreign loans to build its showcase infrastructure projects that will be impossible to quickly pay back.

"Foreign debt has become a critical issue facing our country," said Munkh-Orgil Tsend, a member of the MPP and a candidate for parliament.

"As I see it, our country can't pay back our foreign debt in the next few years. So most likely we have to conduct negotiations with the lenders… Current debt ratio to GDP is 55 percent and likely to reach 75 percent next year."

Twelve different parties and three separate coalitions are vying for power [Ganbat Namjilsangarav/Al Jazeera]

But Enkhbold Zandaakhuu, chairman of the Democratic Party and speaker of the parliament, rejected criticism by the opposition.

"As of the last three years, we have built 2,720km of roads and connected seven provincial capitals with Ulaanbaatar. In 2016, we are planning to build 1,284km of roads… We laid the foundation for great development work that was not done in the last 100 years."

Prime Minister Saikhanbileg Chimed defended Mongolia's borrowing, saying most of it was done by the private sector and the government owes only about $4.9bn.

"The government will be only responsible for this and rest of the debt will be paid by private-sector companies. There is no country in the world that developed without loans," Saikhanbileg told Al Jazeera.

Social welfare promises

The gap between the rich and poor has continued to grow and the latest figures show one-third of Mongolians now live in poverty.

MPP has vowed to expand social welfare services, including building more schools and giving cash handouts for low-income households and single mothers.

The main opposition party boasts a strong, centralised structure that dates back to communist times. The Democrats, meanwhile, have struggled with factional fighting among various leaders.

MPP has promised to develop its coal and metallurgical industries and reduce petroleum dependency on Russia.

A woman asks a question of candidate Erdenebat Danzan from the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party [Ganbat Namjilsangarav/Al Jazeera]

Minor parties and civic groups accuse wealthy and powerful MPs from the two traditional ruling parties of protecting their vested interests at the expense of ordinary Mongolians.

"Ninety-five percent of all bank savings are held by about 1,000 rich families," said Gankhuyag Khassuuri, an independent candidate for parliament and a business owner.

"Mongolians thought and acted as if there is no other choice… I want to show that we have a third option. These two [parties] attempt to rule through their membership. However, about 20 or 30 wealthy people with offshore accounts hide behind these two parties and have been ruling the country in turn for 26 years."

At a recent rally in Ulaanbaatar's Chingeltei district, Erdenebat Danzan from the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party ensured the crowd he wasn't tainted by corruption.

"I don't have an offshore account. I have nothing to hide and I'm one of you and not one of them," he said.

Coal miner party

Erdene Sambuu, head of the trade union at the state-owned coal mine Tavan Tolgoi, appealed to the public not to vote for the "party of coal miners", referring to the two dominant parties whose members allegedly hold vast interests in or own coal mining companies.

"These oligarchs want to take power and use the Tavan Tolgoi mine as collateral for their debt," Erdene said.

Social activist Tseren Enebish added: "It is time to get rid of both DP and MPP. It is time to end corruption and the debt of Mongolia."

It remains to be seen if Mongolians will heed that message on Wednesday.

Source:Al Jazeera

Read More

Baby steppes: Mongolian women face ballot box battle

Ulan Bator: Mongolian pop singer and single mother Nara swapped her trademark miniskirt for a traditional "deel" to campaign in tented slums for a seat in parliament, but would-be female parliamentarians face an uphill challenge as the country goes to the polls Wednesday.

Women politicians have been making strides in Asia in recent years, and on some measures Mongolia fares well on gender equality, but weeks ago mostly male MPs voted to reduce a quota for female candidates.

Nara, 33, whose full name is Munkhturiin Narantuya and who has a two-year-old son, aspires to "change the system, involve myself to influence how the system should work", she told AFP as she walked past open drains in Mongolia's capital Ulan Bator.

Best known for her hit single "Discovering Myself", she has 175,000 Facebook fans and has used social media to highlight her experiences of domestic violence.

But she has faced an onslaught of gender-related insults during her campaign, with one video posted online pillorying her for working as a "hostess" at a bar in Japan.

"I am frustrated about why we can't improve our health care, why can only rich people can go abroad and be treated," she said. "My competitors try to slander me based on who I was and how I acted."

In some areas Mongolia is unusually progressive -- more than two-thirds of the country's higher degrees go to women, according to the ministry of human development and social welfare.

The education gap starts at a young age, with rural families sending school-aged girls to towns for schooling while boys are kept at home to help with herding livestock. 

But conservative attitudes endure and discrimination is still rife, with women's wages on average 19 percent lower than men's, according to a survey by Mongolia's National University.

- Share power -

Women have been swept to power in recent years across Asia, most recently in Taiwan where Tsai Ing-wen was elected president in January. Park Geun-Hye, daughter of a former dictator, has led South Korea since 2013 and Yingluck Shinawatra was prime minister of Thailand from 2011 to 2014.

In the last election, Mongolia had a quota requiring 30 percent of candidates to be female, which saw 11 women elected to the State Great Hural out of 76 seats. 

Female lawmakers have been credited with pushing forward legislation which improved women's lives, including increased punishments for domestic violence and more childcare centres, helping mothers enter the workforce.

"Problems that usually affect women such as kindergarten and other social issues cannot be solved without women," said Luvsangiin Erdenechimeg, head of the women's caucus in parliament.

"We solved a number of important legal issues that were never allowed in the previous parliaments where only men were members," she told AFP.

She is standing for a second term with the ruling Democratic party, but with the female candidate quota cut to 20 percent this year, she says that there is "no will" to bring women into political leadership.

The rule change "reveals that the majority (men) don't want to share power with women", Zolzaya Batkhuyag, director at advocacy group Women for Change, told AFP. 

Some women are campaigning on issues beyond gender, in a country whose rich resources have yet to fulfil its people's hopes for higher living standards.

Baatarjaviin Munkhsoyol, an independent female candidate pursuing a doctorate at university in Canada, is standing on a business-friendly, pro-investment platform.

"The situation could have been better this time if there were smarter policies," she said.

Ordinary Mongolian women point to their power in the home as a sign of their potential on the national stage.

"I think women can be involved in the political leadership," said Buyantogtokhiin Tserendulam, a 35-year-old voter. "In Mongolia it's common that women make decisions at the family level."

AFP

Read More

Mongolia Investment Guide launch by Prime Minister

Mongolia Investment Guide launch by Prime Minister

27 June 2016

The guide was launched by Mongolia's Prime Minister, Chimediin Saikhanbileg, at a ceremony in Ulaanbaatar. He said it would "improve transparency, reduce bureaucracy, improve the business environment and strengthen relations with investors."

---

Online Investment Guide to Mongolia

Designed to facilitate investment decisions, the UNCTAD online Investment Guide to Mongolia provides local and foreign investors with updated and hard-to-find information on operating costs, wages, rents and taxes, as well as on laws, procedures opportunities in mining, agriculture, tourism and financial services, and useful contacts.

The guide is aimed at helping Mongolia attract the kind of investment it needs to fulfill the aspirations set out in the global Sustainable Development Goals. UNCTAD has calculated that to achieve the SDGs developing countries globally need to attract $2.5 trillion a year in private investment per annum to bridge the current financing gap.

The information in the guide was developed following extensive meetings with government agencies that deal with investors as well as with investors themselves. To this end, the guide provides an overall investment picture that isn't available elsewhere.

Staff at the Invest Mongolia Agency took the lead in producing the information and data, under the guidance of UNCTAD. Training on investment issues was a key element in the programme.

The guide is based on a platform developed by UNCTAD (www.theiguides.org) and currently used in a number of countries. It has been designed to be easy update, ensuring the information available remains relevant.

The Mongolia investment guide is part of a package of assistance provided by UNCTAD to the Government on investment matters, and follows the Investment Policy Review of Mongolia of 2013.

Mongolia's Prime Minister, Chimediin Saikhanbileg, launched the online Investment Guide at a ceremony in Ulaanbaatar

Source:http://unctad.org/

Read More

Mongolia votes with mineral riches still a distant dream

Tavan Tolgoi (Mongolia) (AFP) - Deep in the Mongolian steppe, a gigantic hole in the ground holds billions of tonnes of riches that politicians say will fuel the transformation of the landlocked and sparsely populated country into a prosperous modern nation.

But after years of missed deadlines and mounting corruption, voters' once bright hopes for Mongolia's young democracy are turning as dark as the coal of Tavan Tolgoi ahead of a general election Wednesday.

Outside Tsogttsetsii, the company town near the open-pit mine, articulated lorries trail plumes of white dust across the Gobi Desert. They roll past yurts -- known as gers -- plastered with portraits of candidates who pledge to turn its immense resources into new jobs, better schools and improved health care.

But the project suffered years of delays as authorities wrangled with foreign firms and a multi-billion IPO was put on hold. And now coal prices have slumped.

The capital Ulan Bator is plastered with campaign posters, but voters increasingly feel helpless and frustrated in the face of mounting corruption and economic malaise. Many say they would rather not vote than back either of the two major parties.

"Mongolia has every natural resource, but we are one of the poorest countries", said one of the rig drivers, named Otgonbayar, looking from his modest ger on to the mountains of waste bordering the mine.

"Politicians just pass laws that are profitable for them."

It is a far cry from the optimism of the country's democratic revolution of 1990, when it threw off the Soviet yoke, or of the more recent boom years -- when growth hit a world-leading 17 percent in 2011 as commodity prices soared.

Election turnout has shown a steady decline, falling to the mid-60s in 2012, according to Ashleigh Whelan, country director for the International Republican Institute (IRI) which conducts pre-election polling.

"What we've seen here is a level of apathy in the electoral process which I think is related to the fact that citizens don't feel they have adequate choice or adequate consultation in the process," she said.

Voters believe corruption is a "major problem", she added.

"There needs to be more to address the issues, to enable greater confidence by citizens in the political system here."

- 'Fried mutton' -

But two months before the election, the constitutional court changed the system for electing the 76-member Great State Khural, the parliament, from proportional representation to majoritarian constituencies. This greatly reduced third parties' chances in what many see as the result of a tacit power-sharing agreement between the ruling Democratic Party and the opposition Mongolian People's Party.

Previous elections featured a wider range of choices, said Julian Dierkes, an expert on the country's politics at the University of British Columbia.

"It's a two-horse race this time, because proportional representation was abandoned," he said. "The DP and the MPP will be the only relevant parties."

Byambaagiin Bayarmagnai, a 37-year old environmental manager at one of the Tavan Tolgoi companies, said he was frustrated at the lack of choice but "life was better when the MPP was ruling the country".

Tavan Tolgoi is one of several mega projects that politicians promised would raise the country out of poverty. They also include Anglo-Australian giant Rio Tinto's huge copper and gold mine Oyu Tolgoi.

But riches from the countless resources buried under the steppe have so far proved as insubstantial as a desert mirage.

Slowing growth in China, by far Mongolia's biggest trade partner, sent commodities prices collapsing, while political disagreements about who should own the country's resources -- and at what price -- have stymied development.

A previous DP-MPP coalition government gave every Mongolian shares in one of the Tavan Tolgoi companies -- followed, before the next election, by a buy-back deal that prompted accusations of vote-buying.

Now DP Prime Minister Chimediin Saikhanbileg has announced a second buyback, with more than a million Mongolians -- one third of the population -- registering for the deal.

The citizens of Tsogttsetsii express confidence Tavan Tolgoi will one day make their town wealthy. But many still took the opportunity to cash in, such as cafeteria worker Gunsmaa who called the offer a "political show".

Mongolians are just trying to "put fried mutton on the table", said UBC's Dierkes.

"It gives you a sense of how many people are desperate enough that they need cash now," he said.

IRI's Whelan said 61 percent of Mongolians believe "the country is going in the wrong direction", far more than before the 2012 poll.

"There is no way democracy will end, there will still be democracy," said driver Bagakhuu, 36, waiting in front of a small restaurant at Tsogttsetsii's main crossroads.

But he added sheepishly: "I think that we have the wrong democracy."

Source:AFP

Read More