Mongolia’s new president earned his nickname ‘Fist’ after punching a member of parliament
- Khurelsukh Ukhnaa has cultivated a macho persona, complete with photos of him posing shirtless with a hunting gun
- Landlocked Mongolia, wedged between China and Russia, has struggled with political instability since it became a democracy
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Mongolia’s new president-elect Khurelsukh Ukhnaa is a macho character who has been photographed topless on horseback Putin-style, and became known as “Fist” after punching a parliamentarian.
The former prime minister won nearly 70 per cent of the vote in the presidential election, preliminary results showed on Thursday, with historically low voter turnout for the third election in two years.
The country went to the polls on Wednesday to replace populist businessman Battulga Khaltmaa – a former world champion on the martial art of sambo who cannot run for a second presidential term under constitutional rules.
“From the bottom of my heart, I thank my fellow Mongolians,” he said.
Enkhbat Dangaasuren, his main rival, woin about one-fifth of the votes and conceded defeat. An official announcement of the results is expected Thursday afternoon, according to Mongolia’s state news agency.
Khurelsukh has since tried to clean up his image, and this is the first presidential win in 12 years for his Mongolian People’s Party – but voter turnout was just 59 per cent out of around two million eligible voters.
He resigned as prime minister in January following protests and public outrage over the treatment of a coronavirus patient and her newborn baby.
Enkhbat, an internet entrepreneur who largely appealed to the country’s youth, lost momentum when he tested positive for the coronavirus during the election campaign and was forced into quarantine.
Gerelt-Od, senior lecturer at the Mongolian National University of Education, said low turnout was a sign of apathy towards all parties. Infighting among the rival parties and Covid-19 restrictions were also blamed for the sluggish turnout.
Mongolia introduced some of the strictest early measures against the virus and achieved early success in keeping numbers low. But cases have soared in recent months, although there have been impressive high rates of vaccination.
