Former Communist Reelected President

President Natsagiin Bagabandi was reelected in a vote that gave his former Communist party almost total control of the government.

Bagabandi received 57.95% of votes cast Sunday at polling stations that included tents in remote spots on the Mongolian steppe for nomadic herders, the General Election Committee said.

The victory sealed a comeback for the party that ran the vast, sparsely populated country as a Soviet ally for 70 years until embracing democracy in 1990. Bagabandi’s party, which now supports free-market reforms, was voted out of power in 1996 but won 72 of 76 seats in parliament last year after a tumultuous period of rule by a coalition of former dissidents.