Polls close in Mongolian election
The mining boom and moves to keep profits in Mongolia have become key election issues.
Many of the country's three-million voters say they're not seeing any benefit from the boom which saw the country's economy grow by more than 17 per cent last year.
"The children eat badly and are poorly clothed. I think the people at the top are sharing and eating up the wealth," said 29-year-old mother Laagansuren Altantsetseg.
Economists say the issue of foreign investment has the country's politicians in a bind, as they try to gain voter confidence, while at the same time trying to entice international companies.
"Even with popular voter support for resource nationalism, I think authorities in this country are still realistic and will not push it too far, because obviously they need high economic growth," said Dale Choi, Chief Investor Strategist at Frontier Securities.
"Pushing foreign investment too hard would mean foreign investment would leave and the current economic growth would slow down," he said.
Australian mining giant Rio Tinto is working with Canadian company, Ivanhoe, to develop one of the world's largest copper reserves in Mongolia.
The Oyu Tolgoi mine will account for 35 percent of the country's GDP when it begins operating next year.
Several measures have been introduced in the ballot to boost transparency, including an electronic voting system, which is expected to see the results announced very quickly - potentially within hours of the polls closing.
Many of the country's three-million voters say they're not seeing any benefit from the boom which saw the country's economy grow by more than 17 per cent last year.
"The children eat badly and are poorly clothed. I think the people at the top are sharing and eating up the wealth," said 29-year-old mother Laagansuren Altantsetseg.
Economists say the issue of foreign investment has the country's politicians in a bind, as they try to gain voter confidence, while at the same time trying to entice international companies.
"Even with popular voter support for resource nationalism, I think authorities in this country are still realistic and will not push it too far, because obviously they need high economic growth," said Dale Choi, Chief Investor Strategist at Frontier Securities.
"Pushing foreign investment too hard would mean foreign investment would leave and the current economic growth would slow down," he said.
Australian mining giant Rio Tinto is working with Canadian company, Ivanhoe, to develop one of the world's largest copper reserves in Mongolia.
The Oyu Tolgoi mine will account for 35 percent of the country's GDP when it begins operating next year.
Several measures have been introduced in the ballot to boost transparency, including an electronic voting system, which is expected to see the results announced very quickly - potentially within hours of the polls closing.
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