Mongolians vote amid anger over endemic corruption, economic inequality

Mongolians have begun voting in parliamentary elections, with the ruling party widely expected to win despite deepening public anger over corruption and the state of the economy.

Polls opened at 2300 GMT on Thursday and will close at 1400 GMT on Friday.

Voters across the vast, sparsely populated nation of 3.4 million sandwiched between China and Russia, are exercising their democratic rights to elect 126 members of the State Great Khural.

Analysts expect the ruling Mongolian People's Party (MPP), led by Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, to retain the majority it has enjoyed since 2016 and govern the resource-rich country for another four years.

Yet there is deep public frustration over endemic corruption, the high cost of living, and the lack of opportunities for young people who make up almost two-thirds of the population.

There is also a widespread view that the proceeds of a decade-long boom in coal mining that fuelled double-digit growth are being hoarded by a wealthy elite.

Preliminary results are expected to come within a few hours despite Mongolia's vast size, thanks to automated vote counting.

And, for the first time in almost a decade, parties are required by law to ensure that 30 percent of their candidates are women in a country where men dominate politics.

Younger voters

Younger voters are not convinced, and the failure of the main opposition Democratic Party to provide a credible alternative has fuelled the rise of minor parties.

The centre-right anti-corruption HUN party is expected to increase its parliamentary representation through its social-media savvy, professional candidates, who enjoy significant support among the urban middle classes.

"I'll describe this election as a referendum on Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene and whether he will manage to get a mandate to rewrite Mongolia's social contract," Bayarlkhagva Munkhnaran, political analyst and former adviser on the National Security Council of Mongolia, told AFP.