(24 May 2009) SHOTLIST
1. Various of polling station No.29 in the Bayanzurkh district of Ulan Bator, official demonstrating to witnesses that the ballot boxes are empty before sealing them shut
2. Various of Mongolians filing through voting station and having ID checked, their hands marked with ink, and voting cards stamped
3. Various of people voting
4. People waiting to vote
STORYLINE
A politically divided Mongolia began voting for a new president on Sunday after being battered by the economic downturn and worries that a too-close result will renew the rioting that marred an election last year.
Polls show the two candidates in a statistical tie, with incumbent President Enkhbayar Nambaryn given a slight edge if farmers and nomadic herdsmen turn out heavily for Sunday's vote.
About 50 election observers from 11 international organisations and embassies such as the US, Sweden and Japan were monitoring the balloting.
Both Enkhbayar, who is running for a second term, and rival Democratic Party candidate Elbegdorj Tsahia are promising ordinary Mongolians they will get a share of revenues from the country's mineral wealth.
Beyond that, their messages differ and their abilities to deliver on campaign pledges are hampered by the drag of the global financial crisis on the poor, landlocked country of 2.6 (m) million people.
Growth that averaged nearly nine percent annually from 2004-08 - mainly carried by high prices for copper and new gold production - is projected to slump to just above two percent this year as mineral prices tumble.
One third of the population already live below the poverty line.
Last year, sharp political differences between the two parties played out in contentious parliamentary elections.
When Elbegborj's Democrats lost, he alleged voting fraud by election committees, which are dominated by the ruling party.
What followed was a vodka-fuelled riot that left five dead and 300 injured and protesters setting fire to the ruling party's headquarters in central Ulan Bator.
To prevent a repeat, authorities in the capital have banned alcohol sales and cancelled sports competitions, cultural shows and other events that draw crowds on election day.
Election officials have been instructed to put ink marks on the fingers and voter identification cards of voters to try to prevent them from voting more than once.
Some Mongolian voters are sceptical about the prospects for real change from two well-established politicians.
The election comes as the country struggles to cope with plummeting mineral prices, which have hit the economy hard.
The presidential election is Mongolia's fifth since a popular and largely peaceful uprising overturned the pro-Soviet Union government in 1990.
The country has been hailed as a success story for democracy in a region dominated by authoritarian government.
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