Today (24 June), Mongolians are voting in the parliamentary election. Polling stations opened at 7.00 a.m. local time and voting is underway across the country; doors will close at 10.00 p.m. Many Mongolians, mostly young people wearing traditional deels (pronounced ‘dells’) are actively participating in the election.

As of 5.00 p.m. voter turnout nationwide had reached 52.6 percent, reported the General Election Commission; this is higher than in recent elections. The next reports on the voter turnout will be presented at 22:00.

A total of 606 candidates from 15 parties, four coalitions and independents are competing for the 76 seats in the Mongolian parliament or State Great Khural.

The State Registration Authority has registered a total of 2.1 million eligible voters out of a 3.3 million population. Mongolia’s eligible voting population can be divided by age to 324,000 people aged between 18 and 24, around a million aged 25-45 and 740 thousand people aged over 45. However, some 150,000 people have been expelled from the list due some reasons.