Mongolian ruling party seen winning presidency amid pandemic

Preliminary results in Mongolia’s presidential election show the chairman of the ruling Mongolian People’s Party and former prime minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh winning by a large margin

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia -- Preliminary results in Mongolia’s presidential election show the chairman of the ruling Mongolian People’s Party and former prime minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh winning by a large margin. Wednesday’s election was held amid restrictions aimed at containing the largest surge of COVID-19 cases to hit the vast landlocked nation of just 3 million people. The virtually certain win for Khurelsukh would cement his Mongolian People’s Party’s control over all three major branches of government — a development the opposition says poses a risk to the country's democracy. By midnight, Khurelsukh was leading with 67.9% of the vote, far ahead of former legislator Dangaasuren Enkhbat from the political alliance Right Person Electorate Coalition, who had 20.2%. Enkhbat tested positive for COVID-19 three days before the vote and is hospitalized.