Mongolia to vote: economy and welfare at stake
Ulaan Baatar (AsiaNews) - Mongolia is getting ready for tomorrow's general election, when the People's Party (formerly Communist Party) will challenge the Democratic Party to maintain its supremacy in Parliament. At stake is not only the executive but also a large part of the country's economic development: the "popular" because they want to overturn a law imposed by President Tsakhia Elbegdor (Democrat), which requires executive control over all transactions above 75 million dollars.
At the moment the People's part are at a distinct disadvantage. A poll puts them 14 percentage points below the challengers: 42 percent of Mongolians has declared Democrat, while only 28 expressed sympathy for former communists. In fact 70 years of communist rule in the country that proved disasterous for the economy weighs heavily: the center-right Democrats argue for low taxes and full support to industries and private businesses.
In this sense, the June 28 elections are critical to the mining sector giants: foreign investment in the sector, which represents 62 percent of national GDP, came to 8 billion dollars last year alone
The President Elbegdor, in an interview with the Financial Times, has expressed readiness to receive suggestions for improving the law on the control of the money coming in, but added that "we must avoid the risk of corruption due to the high circulation of money and the great interests at stake. " The mining companies also fear a period of uncertainty after the parliamentary elections in 2008 because the election without a clear winner set off protests in the capital.
18/07/2022 11:55