Authors: Byambajav Dalaibuyan, Mongolian Institute for Innovative Policies and Julian Dierkes, UBC
On 24 June 2020, Mongolia will hold its eighth parliamentary election since adopting its 1992 democratic constitution. This election is significant at a time when democracy worldwide increasingly appears under threat. It will assess the state of Mongolia’s democracy — which has exhibited signs of weakening — and whether the country can buck a global democratic backsliding trend.
A total of 606 candidates, representing 13 political parties and 4 coalitions as well as 121 independents, will compete in the election. Both the incumbent Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) — which won 65 of 76 seats in 2016 — and the opposition Democratic Party (DP) are running candidates in all 76 election districts.
The record number of 121 independent candidates is a response to perceptions of failure of the Mongolian party system. Public trust in the two established political parties and parliament has dropped. Frustration and anger has been building over the incompetence of many members of parliament and their direct involvement in the embezzlement of state funds in recent years.
Last November, the MPP-dominated parliament adopted amendments to the 1992 constitution intended to strengthen Mongolia’s parliamentary system of government, judicial independence and government stability. The amendments are particularly important as President Khaltmaa Battulga has become increasingly hostile towards parliamentary democracy and judicial independence. The next parliament will need to adopt further laws to fully implement the amendments.
Five candidates, two from the MPP and three from the DP, have been arrested since the election campaign started. These arrests are politically motivated and target politicians who have been in conflict with either Prime Minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh or President Battulga. The General Election Committee has not reacted to these violations of candidates’ rights.
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