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Mongolia votes for change of president

MONGOLIA'S opposition Democratic Party candidate Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj has won the presidential election, authorities said yesterday.

With virtually all polling stations reporting, Elbegdorj took more than 51 percent of the vote, while incumbent Nambariin Enkhbayar of the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party received just over 47 percent, the General Election Committee said.

Enkhbayar's quick admission of defeat, before official results were in, helped the Central Asian country avoid a repeat of the deadly violence that followed allegations of fraud during parliamentary elections last summer.

Instead, thousands celebrated in the capital Ulan Bator.

"The Mongolian people have made a choice for their rights and freedoms. Mongolians have made a choice for the material wealth that rightly belongs to them," Elbegdorj told supporters.

Elbegdorj won on promises of rooting out corruption and obtaining a greater share for individuals of the country's mineral wealth.

Analysts say policy-making related to foreign involvement in the economy could become more unpredictable.

The most immediate question is whether a draft agreement on the US$3 billion Oyu Tolgoi project, set to be developed by Canadian-based Ivanhoe Mines and Australia's Rio Tinto, will be held up further after years of negotiations.

The government hopes to use the Oyu Tolgoi deal as a template for future projects.




 

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