Commodity Slump Means Hard Choices for Winner of Mongolia Vote
- Budget deficits, unemployment loom over legislative contest
- Opposition parties accused of ‘playing debt card’ in election
Supporters of the Democratic Party of Mongolia walk into a campaign office in Ulaanbaatar on June 27.
Photographer: Michael Kohn/BloombergHigh unemployment, weak foreign investment and mounting debt are among the challenges awaiting the winner of Mongolia’s first legislative elections since the global collapse in commodity prices ravaged the country’s economy.
While almost 500 candidates are vying for 76 seats on the country’s Great Hural on Wednesday, the race has been a two-way contest between the ruling Democratic Party and the opposition Mongolian People’s Party, which ran country during its communist era. The campaign has seen the government promote accomplishments such as a nationwide road-building program, while the MPP accuses it jeopardizing the country’s mineral wealth by piling on debt.