[JURIST] Mongolia Democratic Party [party website, in Mongolian] presidential candidate Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj [Taipei Times profile] on Monday defeated current president Nambar Enkhbayar [official website, in Mongolian] in the country's general election. Educated in the US, Elbegborj ran on a platform of fighting corruption [Xinhua report] and redistributing profits from the country's mining operations to Mongolian residents. Enkhbayar's Communist Party had originally refuted claims that Elbegdorj had won the election, but later accepted the results [BBC report]. Elbegdorj was briefly Prime Minister in 1998 and again in 2004 [BBC report]. Mongolian police have said they are on alert for any potential violence linked to the election results.

Last year, Enkhbayar declared a state of emergency [JURIST report] following protests against the results of parliamentary elections in the country. At least five people were killed and more than 700 people were detained as a result of the protests. The Democratic Party had called for new elections [Reuters report] because of alleged fraud, but Enkhbayar has said that both parties have agreed to address the riots under established law [Xinhua report].