Elbegdorj wins election

Mon, 25 May 2009 11:52:37

Ts.Elbegdorj is all set to become Mongolia’s new President. Less than a year after the MPRP won the majority of seats in Parliament in an election that is still seen with suspicion, the Democratic Party candidate has got his own back. He has been Prime Minister on two occasions earlier.

Nothing has been officially announced as yet but it is certain that Elbegdorj has won in six Ulaanbaatar districts and in eight aimags. Incumbent president N.Enkhbayar, seeking reelection, has been favored in three districts of the capital and 13 aimags.

The General Election Commission has five days to make the official announcement of results. Counting is still going on in some remote areas. It started soon after polling was over at 10 p.m. on Sunday.

There are unconfirmed reports that MPRP representatives have refused to sign the results in some constituencies. MPRP leaders were also heard swearing at one another. The MPRP has not made any public statement, except claiming victory in certain areas.

The DP has not been so circumspect. The party head, N.Altankhuyag, greeted journalists at the DP office at 6 a.m. with the words, “Good morning. We have a new president.” 

At that time Elbegdorj was 35,000 votes ahead of Enkhbayar, an unassailable lead given that most results had come in.

The victory must be especially sweet for Elbegdorj as this vindicates his consistent stand that last year’s results did not reflect the popular mood. It has also shown that charges of him being responsible for instigating the July 1 incidents have been rejected by people. He stepped down as party leader after the elections and after the DP agreed to join the coalition, a move he opposed.

This year’s election was a straight fight and can be construed as a referendum on the two candidates’ and the two parties’ policies and popular acceptance. With four candidates in the fray in 2005, Enkhbayar had romped home with 53.44 percent of the votes, with DP winning just 20.05 percent. With the electoral arithmetic making sure anti-MPRP votes were not split this time, Elbegdorj has improved the party’s vote share considerably, going comfortably past the magic 50% mark.

DP is going to hold a meeting at Sukhbaatar Square at 3 pm today.

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