Mongolian Politics

At the end of June, Mongolia held its parliamentary elections and Mongolians all over the country gathered to makeshift polling stations to cast their votes. The results of the election were released July 1st and have created considerable controversy. The People's Revolutionary Party (the communist party of Mongolia) which had previously held power came out the victor in the election, however the democratic party argues that the election results had been tampered with to create a fraudulent victory for the P.R.P.

Protesting ensued in front of the P.R.P. headquarters building that night, which escalated into rioting. The P.R.P headquarters was burned down, the fire severely damaging nearby buildings including the Fine Art Museum. Several of my classmates watched the riots from a nearby hill while I was safe (and oblivious) in my hotel room working on photos. They happened to come across a reporter from CNN who had happened upon the scene as well, but without his camera. He gave them his business card so that they could send him some images and eyewitness accounts of the event. The next day, my classmate Ryan was interviewed over the phone live on CNN.

In response to the violence, the Mongolian government issued a state of emergency beginning at 12:01 am July 2nd that would last four days. During this time, everyone in Ulaan Baatar was required to observe a 10 pm - 5 am curfew and restricted from buying alcohol or gasoline (unless purchasing with a credit card) and holding public gatherings. Peace Avenue, the main street of UB, was also closed to all traffic except pedestrians and buses.

The state of emergency has since been lifted and the climate here in UB seems considerably less tense - especially with the Nadaam Festival happening tomorrow. From what I gathered from talking to people here, the rioters were mainly angry, uneducated young adults (early to mid 20s) who reacted before they knew the actual statistics. Though most of the urban Mongolians more than likely voted against the P.R.P., a large percentage of Mongolia's population lives in urban areas as nomadic or seminomadic farmers and herders. These rural citizens generally tend to vote communist because in the past the party has served their interests. This means that the P.R.P.'s victory might not have been fraudulent after all.

Mongolia's main sources of wealth are its mineral resources, especially copper. However, a great deal of their mining operations are controlled by foreign investors who generally have little interest in observing ecologically responsible mining practices that would preserve the beauty of the Mongolian countryside. As a result, Mongolia sees much less of the profit from its mineral deposits as it should. As I understand, part of what made this election so important were the different parties' stances on this issue of mineral resources. One party in particular that opposed the P.R.P. claimed to have a plan to keep the mining profits in Mongolia and distribute the wealth so that everyone (not just the rich and the government) would benefit from those profits. This is one of the potential reasons for the riots.

Another factor which many believe contributed to the events of July 1st was that about 15-20 years ago, for the first time in a great while, there were huge numbers of homeless children in Mongolia for whom the new government did next to nothing. These people grew up without access to education and other opportunities and are now in their early to mid twenties - the same age as the bulk of the rioters.

As exciting as this event was at the time, it looks like that will be the only political violence Ulaan Baatar will be seeing in a while. The Nadaam Festival is beginning tomorrow, and the whole city is gearing up for the huge three-day party. Everyone seems to have forgotten about the elections all together, at least for now.