By Lindsay Beck
ULAN BATOR (Reuters) - On horseback, foot and motorcycle,Mongolians cast their ballots on Sunday in a tight race thatwill see the election of a government tasked with fightinginflation and tapping into huge mineral wealth.
A poll showed the ruling Mongolian People's DemocraticParty (MPRP) with a slight edge over the Democratic Party, butif neither wins a majority in the 76-seat parliament, or GreatHural, the smaller parties on the ballot could be the realpower-brokers.
"It's important that somebody who is capable of doingsomething, not just talking, is elected," said EnkhtaivanSaaral, 38, who like many Mongolians, herds goats and sheep onthe country's rolling grasslands and lives in a round felttent.
He will travel on horseback to the nearest district centreto cast his ballot in the polls which opened at 12 midnightBritish time and close at 3 p.m. British time on Sunday.
Political parties have pledged to curb inflation, which isat its highest level in more than a decade.
Reliant on its giant neighbours Russia and China for fueland food, Mongolia's inflation rose to 15.1 percent last yearas international prices soared.
But politicians themselves complain that cash promises madeduring campaigning aren't helping, if they aren't matched byfiscal reforms and new revenue sources.
The country of rolling grasslands and vast deserts that ishome about 3 million people, many of them nomadic herders, saweconomic growth of 9.9 percent last year, but voters say theyare starting to feel the pinch.
The last election four years ago resulted in a hungparliament, leaving the parties to scramble to form agovernment to rule the landlocked country whose empire underGenghis Khan once extended west as far as Hungary.
The unstable coalition meant the country has been throughthree prime ministers since then, the latest Sanj Bayar, of theMPRP, the party that ruled Mongolia for much of the pastcentury as a Soviet satellite.
CHALLENGE
The challenge this time for voters will be to elect agovernment with enough mandate to pass revisions to Mongolia'sMinerals Law and ratify an investment agreement that wouldallow the Gobi desert Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold project to gohead.
The agreement, which developers Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tintopredict would increase Mongolia's GDP by 34 percent, couldclear the way for future deals to extract its resources, whichinclude coal and uranium.
"For sure Bayar will be elected. In the mining sector theyhave a platform and I believe that Bayar will carry it out in ajust way," said Nyamtseren, 43.
Others were less sure.
"I support the Democratic Party," said Erdenebayar Nyam,45, a machinery operator at a state-owned coal mine.
"Starting from last year they were visiting families andasking what issues they should address. So their platform mustreflect the wishes of the people," he said.
Both parties say they support the investment agreements.But more populist parties are tapping into public suspicionthat mining deals will give away Mongolia's wealth toforeigners and create environmental disasters. This could putthem in a key negotiating position in a tight race.
New electoral rules that change the previousfirst-past-the-post system also mean there could be confusionat the ballot box and several days before an official result.
"The system of calculation is very complicated," saidLuvsandendev Sumati, director of the Sant Maral Foundation, anon-governmental organisation that does polling and surveys.
"I'm afraid that if they calculate the ballots 10 timesthey will get 10 different results," he said.
"Before, I had a very good monthly salary of $200-$300 (100pounds-150 pounds). Now $500 is too small a salary," saidBatsuren Darga, 41, who owns a window factory.
"I'm coping. But for my workers I can tell it's achallenge."
(Editing by David Fogarty)
