ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — Preliminary results in Mongolia’s presidential election show the chairman of the ruling Mongolian People’s Party and former prime minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh winning by a large margin. Wednesday’s election was held amid restrictions aimed at containing the largest surge of COVID-19 cases yet to hit the vast landlocked nation of just 3 million people. A win by Khurelsukh would cement his party’s control over all three major branches of government. By midnight, Khurelsukh was leading with 67.9% of the vote. Voter turnout was logged at 52.69%, which surpassed the required threshold of 50%. Voters said addressing unemployment and reviving the economy hard hit by the pandemic topped their concerns.
