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In pictures: Scenes from Mongolia

The resource-heavy central Asian nation is in the spotlight as parliamentary election exposes corruption allegations.

Nambaryn Enkhbayar, a former president of Mongolia, is shrouded in controversy. Is he a valiant defender of democracy, or a corrupt official?
Published On 29 Jun 2012

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia – International attention turned towards this central-Asian nation this week, as the country headed to the polls to elect a new parliament. Mongolia, the size of western Europe, is rarely in the headlines, but is increasingly becoming the focus of industrialists eager to benefit from the country’s vast mineral reserves.

It has the fastest-growing economy of any country in the world – with GDP increasing 17.3 per cent in 2011, according to the World Bank, and with known mineral deposits estimated to be valued at around $1.3tn.


Corruption fears high before Mongolian election

Yet, despite this abundance of natural wealth, some 30 per cent of Mongolia’s 2.9 million people live below the poverty line.

Many point to a perception of rampant greed and corruption on the part of officials, with Transparency International placing the country 120th of 183 nations on its corruption perception index – joint with Iran and Ethiopia, among others.

Public pressure has forced the government to consider placing restrictions on how much of a stake outside companies can have in Mongolia. That has led to nervous investors. A case in point came this week, as shares in Mongolia Mining Corporation, the nation’s biggest coking coal exporter, slumped to a record low following speculation that investment rules would be tightened after the elections.

But the country’s president, Tsakhia Elbegdorj, says he prefers to leave investment issues as they are, and focus instead on tackling the widespread corruption within the government. The this end, he has beefed up the powers of the agency responsible, the Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC).

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Since its inception six years ago, IAAC officials say they’ve gathered evidence on more than 600 politicians and civil servants – including former president Nambaryn Enkhbayar, who has dubbed the campaign against him “political persecution”.

Al Jazeera’s Steve Chao was in Mongolia for the poll, and captured scenes from the city and the steppe.

Horses were first domesticated in this part of the world, making Mongolians herders the original "cowboys".
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Every year several people die in the coal mines of Nalaikh, Mongolia. But feeling left out of the country(***)s resource boom, the miners here say they have little choice but to risk their lives.
A massive statue of Genghis Khan, several stories high, stands guard over the grasslands outside Ulaanbaatar. Needless to say, Mongolia(***)s "Great Conquerer" is revered here.
Using satellite dishes and solar power, families living in gers (structures similar to yurts) in the grasslands now enjoy some "modern" comforts - hundreds of miles from any industrialised town.
A child makes a trip to a water station in a slum that encircles the city of Ulaanbaatar. There is little running water, and few sanitation facilities in these communities.
Nomadic herders, Mongolians have for centuries tended to their livestock. But as in other parts of the world, many are trading the rural lifestyle for an urban one. Many of Mongolia(***)s next generation are leaving this way of life altogether
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The slow-paced nomadic life on the plains of Mongolia is fast disappearing. While the horse continues to be revered as the national symbol, they are fast being replaced by motorised vehicles.
More than a million Mongolians have abandoned the traditional lifetyle and moved into the only real city in the country, Ulaanbaatar. While gers still dot parts of the hillsides around the capital, many are being replaced by makeshift homes.
Sarantuyaa prepares a fire in the family ger. She(***)s lived all her life in Mongolia(***)s vast grasslands, but her two sons have left for the city, and believes her two remaining children will also soon give up this traditional life.
Modern amenities and western culture are fast becoming a part of traditional life in Mongolia.
Election posters posted by political parties carry campaign slogans promising to "sweep" away corruption. Transparency International ranks Mongolia 120th out of 183 nations on the corruption scale
Despite his intimidating exterior, rapper "Gee" says his lyrics - full of slurs and hatred directed at foreigners and corrupt officials - are only meant to make Mongolians think.