Mongolian presidential election forced into run- off next month

No candidate has won an outright victory in Mongolia’s presidential election meaning the first ever run- off between two leading candidates will be held next month, the General Election Committee said on Tuesday.

A populist former martial art star Khaltmaa Battulga of the opposition Democratic Party won the most votes in the Monday election, but failed to secure the majority required, the committee said.

He will face ruling Mongolian People’s Party ( MPP) candidate Miyeegombo Enkhbold, who came second, in a run- off on July 9, the committee’s chairman, Choinzon Tsodnomtseren, told a news briefing.

Battulga, who is regarded as a resource nationalist who is suspicious of Mongolia’s giant neighbor to the south, had been confident about his chances.

“I never lose, I must win. I always win in the history of my life,” Battulga told Reuters in an interview late on Monday, before the preliminary results were announced.

After final tallies from districts came in overnight, Battulga emerged with 517,478 votes, 38.1 percent of the total, according to Mongolian state television.

Enkhbold of the ruling MPP, regarded as pro- investment and market- friendly, scraped through to the second round with 411,748 votes, 30.3 percent of the total.

Enkhbold, an establishment politician and the speaker of parliament, appears to have suffered as a result of his party’s austerity policies.

The government was forced to implement austerity measures to secure a $ 5.5 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund in May.