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Mongolian election highlights those left behind by mining boom

The Associated Press reports from ULAN BATOR, Mongolia — Mongolians traveled by foot, car and horse to vote for a new legislature Thursday in an election that centered on better spreading the benefits of Mongolia's mining boom across the vast and still largely poor country. 

A poll this month showed the opposition Democratic Party with a slight edge over the ruling Mongolian People's Party, though neither had the support to win an outright majority in the 76-seat parliament.

The Democratic Party has cast itself as better placed to help the poor and unemployed and portrayed the ruling MPP as beholden to the rich. Read the full story.

The Guardian: Mongolia's new wealth and rising corruption is tearing the nation apart

PhotoBlog: Nuggets of gold on a journey across the Mongolian steppe

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Herdsmen vote at a polling station during the Mongolian parliamentary elections in the village of Zurlug on June 28, 2012.
Herdsmen vote at a polling station during the Mongolian parliamentary elections in the village of Zurlug on June 28, 2012.Mark Ralston / AFP - Getty Images
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