The transformation of Mongolia from a nomadic herdsman society to an increasingly urbanised nation has helped thrust the opposition Mongolian Democratic Party to victory in parliamentary elections.
The Democrats' key promise was the completion of a largely moribund 10-year-old scheme to privatise land. Under the scheme, every citizen is entitled to a 700 square metre plot of land in an urban area. In the campaign, voters flocked to the Democrat rallies to support this initiative, as the candidates said a land-owning society would create a solid middle class.
'This is our dream, to have a large middle class that will guarantee freedom and democracy. If people don't have land or benefits then we will have millions of poor people who will forever be angry at the system. That is dangerous for the peace and stability of our society,' said Tsedevdamba Oyungerel, a newly elected Member of Parliament from the MDP.
According to near final results of the June 28 polls, the MDP has won 31 seats, not enough to form a government by itself, but giving it the first opportunity to forge a coalition in which it would be the leading party.
Coming in second was the ruling Mongolian People's Party (MPP), the former communists who now describe themselves as left-leaning social democrats. The MPP won 25 seats, with victories in two other seats being challenged, and will become a minority in Parliament for only the second time in its 91-year history.
Led by career politician Norov Altanhuyag, one of the leaders of Mongolia's democratic movement in the early 1990s, the MDP focused on social issues and urban land rights.