Comment on Sluggish economy casts shadow over Mongolia’s elections

Sluggish economy casts shadow over Mongolia’s elections

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia — Mongolians vote in parliamentary elections Wednesday with sentiment weighed by a sharp downturn in the landlocked Asian nation’s crucial mining sector, rising unemployment and political disillusionment. The Democratic Party could lose its majority in parliament, known as the State Great Khural, to the opposition Mongolian People’s Party a year ahead of the 2017 presidential election. [...] with no major policy offerings on the table and an economy pummeled by the global slump in commodity prices, it’s unclear what options Mongolia has for reviving its fortunes. Yet disillusionment with the political process in the country — recently dubbed “an oasis of democracy” by Secretary of State John Kerry — is growing among younger voters, whose turnout has steadily declined in recent years. [...] critics of government agreements with mining companies complain that too little of Mongolia’s mineral wealth benefits the general public. “They have closed some space for smaller political parties, as majoritarian systems do tend to benefit two main political parties,” said Ashleigh Whelan, country director for the International Republican Institute, a U.S.-based group with the stated aim of promoting democracy globally.

 

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