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Mongolia Votes Amid Concerns on Mining Boom | Mongolia Votes Amid Concerns on Mining Boom |
(about 4 hours later) | |
HONG KONG — Mongolians voted on Wednesday in national elections that have focused on demands that the resource-rich country do a better job of distributing wealth to its citizenry as international mining companies tap into its vast resources. | |
The current president, Tsakhia Elbegdorj, is considered the favorite and he is trying to avoid a runoff by capturing 50 percent of the vote against two main opponents. Under Mr. Elbegdorj and his pro-growth policies, Mongolia’s economy grew by 17 percent in 2011 and 12 percent last year, placing it among the world’s five fastest-growing economies, according to the International Monetary Fund. | |
But how that wealth is distributed has overshadowed the election amid concern that foreign companies are exploiting the country’s abundant natural resources without much benefit to the Mongolian people. A plan by two foreign companies, Rio Tinto of Australia and Turquoise Hill Resources of Canada, to begin shipments from a huge copper mine was delayed by the government ahead of the election amid demands that Rio Tinto keep more proceeds in Mongolia. The $6 billion mine is expected to provide a third of government revenues by the end of the decade. | |
Results of the voting are not expected until Thursday. Mongolia, a landlocked country between China and Russia that is home to 2.7 million people, held its first national elections in 1992, two years after its Communist leadership fell from power in a peaceful transition. | Results of the voting are not expected until Thursday. Mongolia, a landlocked country between China and Russia that is home to 2.7 million people, held its first national elections in 1992, two years after its Communist leadership fell from power in a peaceful transition. |
Mr. Elbegdorj is facing challenges from Badmaanyambuu Bat-Erdene, a champion wrestler who is the candidate of the Mongolian People’s Party, and Natsag Udval, from the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party, who is a backer of former President Nambar Enkhbayar. Both opposition candidates have called for changing the terms of Rio Tinto’s contract for the mine, located at Oyu Tolgoi. | Mr. Elbegdorj is facing challenges from Badmaanyambuu Bat-Erdene, a champion wrestler who is the candidate of the Mongolian People’s Party, and Natsag Udval, from the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party, who is a backer of former President Nambar Enkhbayar. Both opposition candidates have called for changing the terms of Rio Tinto’s contract for the mine, located at Oyu Tolgoi. |
Many in Mongolia are concerned about how the vast expansion of the country’s mining industry has changed the nation’s character from a nomadic land to one of lightning-fast economic development, with pollution now afflicting the country and its capital, Ulan Bator. At the end of last year, Mongolia’s Parliament passed a law that would extract more royalties from the operations of the Oyu Tolgoi mine, which has alarmed foreign investors given the $6 billion investment by Rio Tinto and its partners in the mine. | Many in Mongolia are concerned about how the vast expansion of the country’s mining industry has changed the nation’s character from a nomadic land to one of lightning-fast economic development, with pollution now afflicting the country and its capital, Ulan Bator. At the end of last year, Mongolia’s Parliament passed a law that would extract more royalties from the operations of the Oyu Tolgoi mine, which has alarmed foreign investors given the $6 billion investment by Rio Tinto and its partners in the mine. |
If no candidate secures 50 percent of the vote, a runoff will be held July 10. | If no candidate secures 50 percent of the vote, a runoff will be held July 10. |