Ahead of this month’s legislative elections, an opposition lawmaker in Mongolia was fatally beaten, his party announced on Sunday.
According to a statement from his party, the victim was a governor of Sant Sum in central Mongolia and a member of the Democratic Party (DP).
According to the party, the man was assassinated on Saturday.
The individual was identified as “BB” in a statement by his party, although local media only called him B. Bayanmunkh.
The DP said it was saddened that “a star of democracy… has lost his life at the hands of others”.
“At around 10:00 pm… B was killed by others during a meeting of five members of the MPP in the first round of parliamentary elections,” a party statement read, referring to the acronym of the ruling Mongolian People’s Party.
On June 28, parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place in Mongolia, a country with 3.5 million people that is three times larger than France.
In the democratic nation between China and Russia, where all political viewpoints are represented in the media and contentious debate is the norm, violent election campaigns are uncommon.
However, detractors claim that the nation’s rule of law is deteriorating and that the administration is attempting to soften criticism of its record on corruption.
“This election is going on under all possible pressures, such as heavy government pressure and spying,” the DP statement added.
