Polling stations in the capital Ulaanbaatar opened at 7:00 a.m. (11:00 p.m. GMT), noted an AFP journalist. They will close at 10 p.m. (2 p.m. GMT).
The voters of this vast but sparsely populated (3.4 million inhabitants) East Asian country, rich in natural resources and neighboring China and Russia, elect 126 members of the Great State Khural – the national parliament.
The ruling Mongolian People’s Party (PPM), led by Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, is expected to retain the majority it has enjoyed since 2016 and remain in power for four more years.
But concerns remain strong regarding purchasing power undermined by inflation (it is currently at 7%) and by the feeling among many Mongolians of widespread corruption.
“A few members of the elite benefit from the (mining) sector, not ordinary people,” Tumurkhuyag Bayanmunkh, a retired miner, told AFP.
“Politicians must stop stealing,” says the 46-year-old.
The sale of alcohol is banned in the capital Ulaanbaatar from Thursday to Saturday to avoid disrupting the smooth running of the elections.
Despite the country’s vastness, preliminary results should be known within hours thanks to the electronic voting system.
In the streets of Ulaanbaatar, where half of the Mongolian population lives, the countless electoral propaganda posters represent the entire political spectrum, from liberals to nationalists, including populist businessmen and environmentalists.
In Mongolia’s largely male-dominated political world, parties are this year required by law to ensure that 30 percent of their candidates are women.
The campaign ended on Wednesday, giving the PPM a chance to hold a triumphant rally in the small town of Zuunmod, during which it promised voters that it would win “victory for the people.”
The failure of the main opposition movement, the Democratic Party, to offer a credible alternative has fueled the rise of smaller parties.
Among them is the anti-corruption center-right HUN party, which is expected to increase its number of MPs. Its professional candidates, comfortable with social media, enjoy strong support among the urban middle classes.
“I think young people today pay more attention to the activity of political parties,” says Norovbanzad Ganbat, a 24-year-old IT worker.
“They see what the PPM has done in the last four years,” she says. “That’s why young people don’t vote for this party,” she says.
– “Corrupt leaders” –
At Wednesday’s meeting, Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene accused his political opponents of turning Mongolia into a “country of corrupt leaders” and called for a return of “discipline.”
During his mandate, however, the country fell sharply in the ranking of the NGO Transparency International, based on the corruption perception index.
According to government critics, press freedom and the rule of law have also declined in recent years.
So much so that according to the Sant Maral Foundation, the country’s leading independent pollster, more than a third of Mongolians now believe the country is “turning into a dictatorship.”
“I would describe this election as a referendum for or against (…) Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene” and for or against “a rewriting of Mongolia’s social contract,” political analyst Bayarlkhagva Munkhnaran told AFP.
“This (new) social contract aims to transform Mongolia into a true electoral autocracy. Whereas just 10 years ago, Mongolia was respected as a liberal democracy,” he specifies.
Seen as the successor to the Communist Party that ruled the country with an iron fist for nearly 70 years, the PPM remains popular, particularly among rural dwellers and senior citizens.
“Oyun-Erdene did a very good job,” Sodanjamts Oyunchimeg, the 47-year-old leader of a small administrative district, told AFP during Wednesday’s meeting.
“I really support what he’s doing.”
