ULAANBAATAR, June 8 (Reuters) – Mongolia goes to the polls on Wednesday to choose its sixth democratically elected president, with the ruling Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) poised to consolidate power following a low-key campaign set by COVID-19. 19 borders.

The vote is the first after constitutional amendments stripped the post of some of its powers and limited incumbents to a single six-year term, preventing incumbent Khaltmaa Battulga of the opposition Democratic Party from seeking re-election.

Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, forced to resign as prime minister after protests this year, is the favorite to take over the presidency of the MPP, which already controls parliament and the government.

The Democratic Party presents Sodnomzundui Erdene to replace Battulga.

Campaign events in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, have been kept to a minimum as it battles COVID-19. Daily infections hit a record high over the past week and deaths in Mongolia stand at 325.

“Because of the coronavirus, there is very little information about the election campaign, and I will probably decide then,” said 22-year-old voter Ganbayar Gantulga.

About 1,000 Khurelsukh supporters held a rally outside a concert hall on Saturday, but he moved his campaign online hours later after his Labor Party rival Dangaasuren Enkhbat, the third candidate in the elections, tested positive for the coronavirus.

Mongolia’s hybrid political system gives parliament the power to legislate and appoint governments, but it also gives the president veto power over legislation.

Voters generally choose candidates from opposition parties for the presidency. Although the victors must renounce their party allegiance, they tended to block legislation along party lines, creating a political stalemate that some say has held the country back.

Although businessman and former wrestler Battulgahe failed to overturn the decision to exclude him from this year’s elections, he remains popular with some voters.

“Battulga has done a lot for the people,” said Tsetsegmaa Khasbat, a 67-year-old pensioner. “He’s a person who can get things done.”

However, others were disappointed by its inability to tackle the ruling elite, said Enkhtsetseg Dagva, election program manager at the Open Society Forum, a non-governmental group.

“Battulga made deals with the current MPP that have been detrimental to Mongolian democracy,” she said.

The MPP-controlled parliament agreed to give Battulga the power to sack and replace judges and anti-corruption officials, which critics saw as part of a broader power grab.

Neither the party nor Khurelsukh responded to Reuters requests for comment.

“MONGOLIA WITHOUT DICTATORSHIP”

The Democratic Party’s campaign slogan this year is “Mongolia without dictatorship”, and candidate Erdene told Reuters that an MPP victory would see the country move further towards a one-party state.

“Today, if you are not a member (of the MPP), if you are not affiliated with the ruling party, it is no longer possible to do business as you wish, to study what you choose and live as you wish.”

The two main parties have accused each other of undermining Mongolia’s 30-year-old democracy.

“Both parties are right,” said Sumati Luvsandendev, a political analyst and pollster at the Sant Maral Foundation, a Mongolian consultancy.

“Both sides are ‘undermining democracy’ and it’s not easy to tell which side is doing better.”

Sumati said he expected the MPP to emerge victorious.

“The (Democratic Party) campaign does not exist, while the outsider Enkhbat is doing quite well in consolidating protest votes in urban areas… (but) his chances against the powerful MPP system are very slim,” did he declare.

Reporting by Anand Tumurtogoo in Ulaanbaatar and David Stanway in Shanghai; Editing by Clarence Fernandez

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