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Mongolia’s opposition takes lead ahead of polls

23 June 2012 02:31 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Mongolia’s opposition Democratic Party has established a strong lead over the ruling Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) ahead of elections next week, according to an opinion poll released Friday, APA reports quoting AFP.

The non-profit Sant Maral Foundation, which conducted the poll, said the MPP had been losing support to a breakaway party led by Mongolia’s former president Nambar Enkhbayar.

The charismatic Enkhbayar, who is himself barred from standing in Thursday’s parliamentary elections, is facing corruption charges that he says are politically motivated, and has condemned the ban.

The Sant Maral poll showed that 42 percent of Mongolians support the opposition Democratic Party, while just 28 percent said they would vote for the Mongolian People’s Party.

A coalition of Enkhbayar’s Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP) and the Mongolian National Democratic Party (MNDP) is close behind with 24 percent -- double the support they achieved in an April opinion poll.

Luvsandendev Sumati, head of the Sant Maral Foundation, said many Mongolians believed the ruling party had mishandled Enkhbayar’s case, costing it votes.

"The way they are handling Enkhbayar’s case... creates an opinion among a certain part of society that they (the MPRP) are oppressed, and they require some support," he said.

"It’s a disaster for the MPP that Enkhbayar is stealing their votes."

Landlocked Mongolia, wedged between China and Russia, peacefully shook off communist rule in 1990, and the first democratic elections were held in 1992.

The MPP -- Mongolia’s oldest party -- has remained in control for most of that time, but the majority of its support comes from rural voters.