Khaltmaa Battulga of the Democratic Party makes a fist as he is welcomed by supporters after winning the presidential elections, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Saturday. Battulga won 50.8 percent of the vote with 92 percent of ballots counted, according to the General Election Commission. Photo: IC

Mongolia is expected to go to the polls on Wednesday to choose its sixth democratically-elected president, with the ruling Mongolian People's Party (MPP) on the cusp of consolidating its power following a low-key campaign hindered by COVID-19 curbs.

The vote is the first after constitutional amendments stripped the office of some of its powers and limited holders to a single six-year term, so keeping incumbent Khaltmaa Battulga of the opposition Democratic Party from seeking reelection.

Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, forced to resign as prime minister after protests in 2021, is the favorite to take over the presidency for the MPP, which already controls the parliament and government.

The Democratic Party is fielding 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 over the last week and Mongolia's deaths stand at 325.

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

Mongolia's hybrid political system gives parliament the power to make laws and appoint governments, but it also gives the president a veto over legislation.

Reuters