The Democratic Party (DP) () is a centre-right political party in Mongolia. It was founded through the merger of five opposition political parties that advocated for democratic and economic reforms during the country's post-communist transition. The DP is currently one of the two main dominant political parties in Mongolian politics.
Founded on 6 December 2000, the DP is Mongolia's second-oldest politically active party, the oldest being the Mongolian People's Party (MPP), an ex-communist party that ruled the Mongolian People's Republic from 1921 to 1990 as a one-party state. The DP traces its historic roots back to the 1990 Democratic Revolution, when young intellectuals and foreign-taught students began demonstrating against the state in favour of free and fair elections and a free market economy. The establishment of the Mongolian Democratic Union in late 1989 laid the groundwork for Mongolia's main opposition force and the DP's earliest predecessor, the Mongolian Democratic Party, on 18 February 1990.
History Founding and early years
After the 1990 Democratic Revolution,Chris Kaplonski: Mongolia: Political Parties (Retrieved 29 January 2007) Mongolia became a country with a multi-party system. The democratic revolution transformed Mongolia from a single-party communist state into a dynamic representative democracy. Those who pioneered the democratic revolution established political parties such as the Mongolian Democratic Party (MDP), the Mongolian National Progress Party (MNPP), and the Mongolian Social Democratic Party (MSDP) in early 1990 for Mongolia's first multi-party election in July 1990. The opposition parties won around 8% of the seats in the upper house, the People's Great Khural, and 38% in the new lower house, the State Little Khural. The MDP and the MNPP were invited to a unity government by the ex-communist and ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) in September 1990.
The primary opposition parties formed the Democratic Alliance, a coalition of the MDP, the MNPP, and the Mongolian United Party (a party led by Sanjaasürengiin Zorig), for the new unicameral legislature, the State Great Khural, in the 1992 parliamentary election. The alliance won 4 of the 76 seats, while the MSDP won a single seat. After the June election, the MDP, the MNPP, the MUP, and the Mongolian Renaissance Party united to found the Mongolian National Democratic Party (MNDP) in October 1992. The next year, in June 1993, the MNDP and the MSDP nominated incumbent Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat for the 1993 presidential election, in which he won with 59% of the ballot.
The Democratic Union Coalition (DUC), between the MNDP and the MSDP, saw its first major victory in the 1996 election, where the dominant MPRP was out of power for the first time since 1921. Despite the electoral success, the democratic government would oversee four years of rampant party infighting, unstable governance, and economic slowdown. Between 1996 and 2000, there were a total of four different governments led by the DUC.
Subsequently, for the upcoming elections in 2000, the MSDP, the Mongolian Green Party, and the Mongolian Democratic Renaissance Party exited the DUC. The remaining major coalition member, the MNDP, experienced a split in early 2000, when several high-ranking party officials left and re-established the Mongolian Democratic Party. Furthermore, the murder of Sanjaasürengiin Zorig, a key leader during the 1990 revolution, in October 1998 led to the breakaway of Zorig's allies and the formation of the Civil Will Party in March 2000. The democratic opposition faced an electoral wipeout in the 2000 parliamentary election, winning only a single seat in the State Great Khural. In contrast, the MPRP won a supermajority of 72 seats. In the aftermath of the electoral defeat, five opposition political parties – the Mongolian National Democratic Party, the Mongolian Social Democratic Party, the Mongolian Democratic Party, the Mongolian Democratic Renaissance Party, and the Mongolian Religious Democratic Party – merged and established the Democratic Party of Mongolia on 6 December 2000, a date which commemorated the year 1206, when Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire. Dambiin Dorligjav was elected the party's first chairman during the congress.
2000–2012 Lamjavyn Gündalai, the only independent member of parliament, joined the Democratic Party shortly after its founding. The Democratic Party (DP), with two parliamentary seats, entered an alliance with the Motherland–Mongolian Democratic New Socialist Party (M–MNDSP), which had a single seat, in May 2003. Later in June, the Civil Will–Republican Party, a party with a single parliamentary seat, allied with the DP and the M–MNDSP. The three parties officially founded the Motherland Democratic Coalition (MDC) on 16 July 2003.Wang Wei-fang: The Dissolution of Mongolia's Right-Wing Alliance following the 2004 Mongolian Parliamentary Election and its Impact Mongolian_and_Tibetan_Affairs_Commission The MDC won 34 seats in the 2004 parliamentary election; the MPRP won 36 seats. Neither party had the required majority to form a government. In August 2004, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj was appointed prime minister of a coalition government between the two parties. The MDC was dissolved in late 2004 due to party infighting on various issues, primarily the upcoming 2005 presidential election. In the 2005 presidential election, party chairman Mendsaikhany Enkhsaikhan was nominated as the DP's presidential candidate. He came in second with around 20% of the vote and lost to MPRP candidate Nambaryn Enkhbayar. After the election, Enkhsaikhan was soon succeeded by Radnaasümbereliin Gonchigdorj as party chairman in 2005.
On 1 April 2006, a party convention elected Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj as the party leader. Four candidates had run for the party leadership elections in the first round. Elbegdorj won 46% of the vote, Erdeniin Bat-Uul won 40% and two other candidates won the rest. Without an absolute majority, a second ballot between the leading candidates resulted in Elbegdorj winning with 57.2% of the votes.Luke Distelhorst: Ts. Elbegdorj Mongolia's New Democratic Party Leader , Mongolia-Web, 1 April 2006
On 30 August 2008, the National Consultative Committee of Democratic Party elected Norovyn Altankhuyag as the new leader of the party.www.mongolei.de: Aktuelle Nachrichten aus der Mongolei / 25. bis 31. August 2008 (in German)
2012–2016
In the 2012 parliamentary election, the party won 34 seats in the country's 76-seat unicameral legislature, which was only a handful short of the simple majority requirement to unilaterally govern the country. As such, the party teamed up with ex-president Nambaryn Enkhbayar's Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party and their coalition partner, Mongolian National Democratic Party, to form a government under Norovyn Altankhuyag's premiership. The party's ascension to power coincided with a rapid economic boom largely attributed to the country's mining mega-projects, with The Economist dubbing the country Mine-golia.
During its first two years in power, the government introduced a number of large-scale bonds, with the most significant ones being the Chinggis Bond and the Samurai Bond to fund its ambitious infrastructure projects. Later in 2021, a parliamentary investigation into the Development Bank of Mongolia found massive mismanagement and favouritism in the loan selection process, prompting the country's anti-corruption agency to launch a full-scale investigation into Altankhuyag's involvement in the scandal.
In 2014, DP lawmakers ousted Altankhuyag from the party leadership and the premiership, partly due to his failure to reach an agreement with Rio Tinto, and appointed Chimediin Saikhanbileg in a highly controversial move. In 2015, the stagnation of the Chinese economic growth severely impacted Mongolia's economic prospects and damaged the mineral prices, which the country heavily relied on. The country went into an economic recession, with the GDP shrinking by about 1%.
In 2015, Prime Minister Saikhanbileg travelled to Dubai to finance the Oyu Tolgoi project and a struck a deal with Rio Tinto and other investors, which was colloquially named the Dubai Agreement. The investment agreement was heavily scrutinised both within and outside the party: Mongolia would not profit from the project at least until 2034. Zandaakhuugiin Enkhbold, who was the Democratic speaker of the parliament at that time, and a handful of other Democrats condemned the move. In 2016, just a few weeks before his end of term, Saikhanbileg's government relinquished its exclusive right to purchase the 49% stake in the Erdenet mine, one of the most profitable projects in the country, when the Russian side decided to sell it – without any authorization from the parliament. Saikhanbileg hastily left the country when the country's anti-corruption agency started an investigation into him.
2016–2020
In the 2016 parliamentary election, the DP lost heavily, retaining only nine seats despite retaining 33% of the national vote. The following year, an internal congress elected Sodnomzunduin Erdene as party chairman. Under his leadership, the DP sought to reorganize its structure, strengthen its grassroots branches, and improve candidate selection processes. In 2017, the party's nominee, Khaltmaagiin Battulga, won the presidential election, giving the DP the presidency even though it remained a minority in parliament.
During Erdene's tenure, the party positioned itself as the main opposition force, frequently criticizing the Mongolian People's Party (MPP) government on issues such as economic management, transparency, and judicial independence. The DP also achieved modest gains in the 2020 local elections. However, in the 2020 parliamentary election, the party secured only 11 seats, leaving the MPP with another supermajority. Party chairman Erdene had lost his own seat in the election.
2020–2024 After the 2020 election defeat, Erdene announced he was stepping down and transferred interim roles to MP-elect Tsevegdorjyn Tuvaan, but he soon re-entered due to a leadership dispute that followed in the coming months. Tuvaan argued that internal rules required a proper party congress and challenged attempts to alter nomination procedures. The party would soon split on the matter of re-nominating incumbent president Battulga for the 2021 presidential election.
By March 2021, the party had effectively split into pro and anti-Battulga camps, each led by different chairman-elects, Odongiin Tsogtgerel and Mainbayaryn Tulgat. Neither of the two leaders was officially recognized by the Supreme Court. Therefore, the inability of the DP to unite led to two different primaries being held and two different candidates being nominated. Former chairman and PM Norovyn Altankhuyag was nominated by all 11 Democratic MPs and the Tsogtgerel-led faction, whilst Erdene was nominated by the Tulgat-led faction.
Despite divisions within the party, Erdene was formally nominated as the Democratic candidate in the 2021 presidential election, where he campaigned on a platform of democratic values, anti-corruption, and economic recovery. His nomination was accepted by the General Election Commission (GEC). The supporters of Altankhuyag's nomination protested the GEC decision, and the Democratic MPs launched hunger strikes in Sükhbaatar Square.
The period from 2021 to 2023 was marked by parallel party structures supporting either Erdene or former president Battulga. In 2022, the Supreme Court's ruling in favour of the anti-Battulga faction effectively reaffirmed Erdene's authority until the party's next internal congress. He remained active in promoting democratic principles, maintaining international party contacts, and preparing the organisation for the 2024 election, before handing over leadership to former Minister of Education and chairman-elect Luvsannyamyn Gantömör in early 2023.