Opposition candidate wins Mongolia presidential vote

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-26 10:17

ULAN BATOR: Mongolia's opposition Democratic Party (DP) candidate Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj won the presidential election, authorities said Monday, in an outcome analysts said could complicate a pivotal mining deal.

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 (MPRP) received just over 47 percent, the General Election Committee said.

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

Instead, thousands celebrated on the main square 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 his supporters, with a huge statue of Genghis Khan, who ruled an empire that extended as far west as Hungary, serving as his backdrop.

Elbegdorj won the largely ceremonial post 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. Specifically, Elbegdorj's populist leanings could lead to a tougher stance in dealings with foreign investors in the mining sector.

The most immediate question is whether a draft investment agreement on the $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 mining projects, meaning whatever happens with it will have widespread implications.