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Real estate tycoon wins Mongolia presidency

Sunday, 09 July 2017 8:14 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 09 July 2017 8:15 AM ]

Khaltmaa Battulga, of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), gestures after voting at a polling station during the Mongolian presidential election, in Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia, June 26, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

A real estate tycoon and former wrestling champion has claimed victory in Mongolia’s presidential runoff.

Khaltmaa Battulga of Mongolia’s opposition Democratic Party (DP) claimed victory on Saturday. “Mongolia has won,” he said at a press conference.

Battulga’s rival, Parliament Speaker Mieygombo Enkhbold of the ruling Mongolian People’s Party (MPP), conceded defeat saying that he would “respect and accept the presidential results.”

Battulga, 54, who is a real estate tycoon and former wrestling champion said, “I will start work straight away to resolve the economic difficulties” of the country.

Battulga Khaltmaa, from the Mongolian Democracy Party, waves during an election rally in Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia, June 11, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Mongolia, with a population of three million, is a vast, resource-rich, land-locked country located between Russia to the north and China to the south.

The former Soviet satellite is economically dependent on China.

The country’s main export commodity is copper, whose price has crashed in international markets, plunging the country in a dire economic condition.

Analysts predict Battulga’s main challenge will be the parliament, which is dominated by his rivals.

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