2009 presidential election in Mongolia

Opposition candidate and election winner Tsachiagiin Elbegdorsch

Incumbent and election loser Nambaryn Enchbajar

The 2009 presidential election in Mongolia took place on May 24th of that year.

Candidates

Only candidates who were nominated by one of the parties represented in the Great State of Chural were allowed to vote . These were the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP), the Democratic Party , the party of the citizens' will and the Mongolian Green Party . Only two candidates ran for election: incumbent Nambaryn Enchbajar from the ruling MRVP and former Prime Minister Tsachiagiin Elbegdordsch from the opposition Democratic Party, which was also supported by the other two opposition parties represented in parliament.

Mood before the election

The mood in Mongolia prior to the election was shaped by the effects of the international economic crisis. The raw material income, which is of great importance for the economy of Mongolia, has fallen sharply in the past few months due to the rapidly falling world market prices. However, the country was about to sign an important agreement with foreign investors (including the Rio Tinto Group ) to develop the copper , gold and coal mines Ojuu Tolgoi and Owoot Tolgoi in the Gobi desert . Parliament had postponed discussions on the agreement because of the election campaign.

For fear of unrest such as that which occurred in the general election last year , the government put in place extensive security measures. For example, the serving of alcoholic beverages was banned on election day. All public events in the capital Ulan Bator have been canceled. The media were urged not to report unconfirmed allegations of counterfeiting. Conducting election polls was prohibited.

A close election result was expected. Incumbent Nambaryn Enchbajar enjoyed above all the support of the rural population who lived on cattle breeding. This hoped for financial support or a share in the income from the raw material exports. The majority of the urban population supported the opposition candidate Tsachiagiin Elbegdorsch. Many townspeople hoped for a political renewal by replacing Enchbajar. Its MRVP, the former state party of the Mongolian People's Republic, dominated the politics of Mongolia even after the democratic change. Elbegdordsch had announced that it would take consistent action against corruption. Critics accused him of populism and reservations about foreign investors and feared that if he won, the mining project planned in the Gobi Desert with the help of international companies would have a negative impact.

Ballot

The polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. and closed at 10:00 p.m. local time. By 6:00 p.m., almost 50% of the voters had already cast their votes. If the voter turnout was below 50%, the election would have been repeated.

Result

Nationwide election results.

candidate	Ulan Bator	rural areas	Overall result
Tsachiagiin Elbegdorsch	55.29%	48.28%	562,459 St.	51.24%
Nambaryn Enchbajar	43.21%	50.31%	520,805 St.	47.44%
voter turnout				73.52%

Even before the election commission announced the official results of the ballot, the opposition declared its candidate the winner on the basis of interim results that had become known. The ruling MRVP and its candidate accepted the defeat. As expected, Enchbajar won in the rural areas, where he gained just over 50% of the vote. In the capital Ulan Bator, however, Enchbajar remained well below the 50 percent mark with a good 43% of the vote. The challenger Elbegdorsch only won a little more than 48% of the votes in the country, but won by a clear majority in the capital, where around a third of the Mongolian population lives.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.angelfire.com/ma/maxcrc/elections.html
2. ↑ News.mn: Н.Энхбаяр 100 хувийн саналаар нэр дэвшихээр боллоо ( Memento of the original from February 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ News.mn: Ц.Элбэгдорж: Манай нам ардчилсан гэдгээ харууллаа ( Memento of the original from February 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ↑ News.mn: ИЗН Ц.Элбэгдоржийг дэмжих шийдвэрээ баталгаажууллаа  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ News.mn: Ногоон намын хурал дээр Ц.Элбэгдорж хөтөлбөрөө танилцуулна  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ↑ PR-inside.com: Economic crisis overshadows presidential election in Mongolia
7. ↑ Reuters : Polls close in Mongolia with mining wealth in sight
8. ↑ en.NEWS.mn : Turnout certain to cross required 50%
9. ↑ Rosbalt : Победу монгольской оппозиции на выборах подтвердил Главизбирком  ( page can no longer be accessed , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
10. ↑ en.NEWS.mn: MPRP concedes defeat