Mongolia’s Future as ‘Oasis of Democracy’ Put to Election Test
- More than 600 candidates compete for 76 parliament seats
- Leaders’ efforts to consolidate power looms over contest
An elderly resident prepares to vote at his home in Ulaanbaatar on June 23.
Photographer: Byambasuren Byamba-Ochir/AFP via Getty Images
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Mongolian voters are heading to the polls facing a electoral paradox: More candidates than ever to choose from and increasing concern that power is becoming concentrated in the hands of two top politicians.
More than 600 candidates are competing Wednesday for 76 seats on the country’s Great State Khural -- in the first parliamentary elections since a landslide win by the Mongolian People’s Party four years ago. The Democratic Party and a handful of smaller opposition groups face a tough battle to unseat Prime Minster Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, 52, whose party currently holds 63 seats.