Mongolian People's Party retains strong parliament majority

The MPP secured 62 of 76 seats, while the main opposition Democratic Party won 11 seats and three others were taken by independents and coalitions, the General Election Commission said Thursday. People followed strict social distancing measures during Wednesday's vote in a vast, landlocked country that has had considerable success in fending off the coronavirus.

The Mongolian People's Party retained a strong parliamentary majority, preliminary election results showed Thursday, as the U.S.-allied nation sandwiched between Russia and China held onto its democratic principles amid economic woes. The MPP secured 62 of 76 seats, while the main opposition Democratic Party won 11 seats and three others were taken by independents and coalitions, the General Election Commission said Thursday.

People followed strict social distancing measures during Wednesday's vote in a vast, landlocked country that has had considerable success in fending off the coronavirus. Voters maintained 2 meters (6.5 feet) between them while standing in lines at polling stations in the capital, Ulaanbaatar. Once inside the polling place, election workers checked their temperature and distributed hand sanitizer. Mongolia has recorded just 216 cases of COVID-19 as of Thursday, all of them imported, and no one has died.

The election result marks the first time a single party has retained an absolute majority in consecutive elections. Previously the Mongolian People's Party and the Democratic Party had taken turns wielding a majority in the State Great Khural or were compelled to form coalition governments. The landslide victory will allow Prime Minister Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh to freely form a new cabinet or maintain his current cabinet without facing any opposition.

He will, however, need to work with President Khaltmaagiin Battulga of the Democratic Party, who was elected in 2017 and was not on the ballot. Economic malaise, corruption and weak public services dominated concerns among the country's 3.2 million people, about half of whom live in Ulaanbaatar.

Turnout was more than 73% among the country's 2 million eligible voters, signifying the continuing strength of Mongolia's democratic system instituted after a new constitution was adopted in 1992 following six decades of communism. The MPP's majority is down slightly from the 65 seats it won in 2016's election. Some scattered rural communities had yet to report their results, but that was not expected to have a significant impact on the final outcome.

The MPP's victory was seen as partly based on its general competence in running government affairs and deft handling of COVID-19. Mongolia moved swiftly to close its borders in January to prevent the virus from spreading into its territory. Those diagnosed generally have been Mongolians returning from Russia and other nearby nations. The Ministry of Health says 158 have recovered and 57 remain in treatment and isolation.

Health Minister Sarantuya Davaajantsan was reelected with one of the highest vote counts in her district, in what appeared to be an endorsement of the government's handling of the pandemic. Pensioner Tungalag Jambal, 68, said he voted for his local MPP candidate based on the party's success in handling coronavirus and reducing Ulaanbaatar's notoriously awful winter air pollution.

"I really hope they will keep doing what they are doing and support ordinary people like us," Jambal told The Associated Press. Others were less happy with the party's overwhelming victory.

Ariunzaya Artbazar, a middle-aged volunteer with a Buddhist religious organization, said poverty had prompted many Mongolians to "vote with their stomachs." "The result clearly shows the need for an overhaul of the education system and traditional thinking," said Artbazar, who backed independent candidates.