The politics of Mongolia takes place in a framework of a parliamentary system with a multi-party representative democracy. Mongolia is described as a semi-presidential system.
The government is headed by the Prime Minister of Mongolia, who is appointed by and accountable to the State Great Khural (Parliament). Executive power is exercised by the President of Mongolia, Prime Minister, and the Cabinet. The President serves as the head of state, primarily in the areas of foreign policy and national security, as well as being the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The President also has veto power over laws passed by Parliament, though this can be overridden by a two-thirds parliamentary majority.
Legislative power is vested in the State Great Khural, a unicameral parliament. Judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court, and is independent of the executive and legislature, as guaranteed by the Constitution.
Mongolia held its first democratic elections in 1990, following a peaceful 1990 revolution. From 1921 to 1990, Mongolia was a communist single-party state under the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party. Historically, Mongolian politics has been influenced by its two large neighbors, Russia and China.
History
Socialist period and single party government (1921–1990)
Shortly after the Mongolian Revolution of 1921, Mongolia adopted a one-party socialist republican constitution modeled after the Soviet Union; only the communist party — the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) — was officially permitted to function. Mongolian politics was closely monitored and directed by Kremlin. Any political opposition was brutally repressed, and government officials who opposed the Soviet influence were murdered, executed or sent to labour camps. During the communist regime, collectivisation of livestock, introduction of modern agriculture, limited industrialisation and the urbanisation were carried out without perceptible popular opposition.
Democratic revolution (1990)
The perestroika in the Soviet Union and the democracy movements across Eastern Europe had a profound impact on Mongolian politics. On the morning of 10 December 1989, the first open pro-democracy demonstration was held in front of the Youth Cultural Centre in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of the Mongolian People's Republic. During the demonstrations, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, one of the leading pro-democracy leaders, announced the establishment of the Mongolian Democratic Union, a pro-democracy non-governmental organization and political movement.
Over the next months activists, led by 13 leaders, continued to organise demonstrations, rallies, protests and hunger strikes, as well as teachers' and workers' strikes. Activists had growing support from Mongolians, both in the capital and the countryside. Efforts made by trade unions across the country for democracy had a significant impact on the success of the movement. After demonstrations of tens of thousands of people in freezing weather in the capital city and provincial centres, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the MPRP gave way to the pressure and entered negotiations with the leaders of the democratic movement in March. Jambyn Batmönkh, chairman of the Politburo, decided to dissolve the Politburo and to resign on 9 March 1990, paving the way for the first multi-party elections in Mongolia. In the 1990 parliamentary elections, the MPRP retained its majority in both chambers with relatively minor opposition party gains. As a result, Mongolia became the first country in Asia to successfully transition into democracy from communist rule.
Post-revolution development (1990–1992) As a result of the democratic movement that led to 1990 Democratic Revolution, the constitution was amended, removing reference to the MPRP's role as the leading political force in the country, legalising opposition parties and creating a standing legislative body and the office of president in May 1990.
Mongolia's first multi-party free and fair elections for the People's Great Khural (upper chamber) were held on 29 July 1990. The MPRP won 85% of the seats. The People's Great Khural first commenced on 3 September and elected the president (MPRP), the vice-president (MSDP), the prime minister (MPRP), and 50 members to the State Little Khural (lower chamber). The vice president was also the speaker of the Little Khural.
In November 1991, the People's Great Khural began discussion on a new constitution and adopted it on 13 January 1992. The Constitution of Mongolia entered into force on 12 February 1992. In addition to establishing Mongolia as an independent, sovereign republic and guaranteeing a number of rights and freedoms, the new constitution restructured the legislative branch of government via the creation of a unicameral legislature, the State Great Khural, with 76 members. The 1992 constitution provided that the president would be directly elected by popular vote rather than by the legislature as before. In June 1993, incumbent Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat won the first direct presidential election, running as the joint candidate of the democratic opposition.
As the supreme legislative organ, the State Great Khural is empowered to enact and amend laws, regarding domestic and foreign policy, to ratify international agreements, and declare a state of emergency by the constitution. The State Great Khural meets semi-annually. The parliamentary election holds place every four years, but the electoral system varied in each election. The current electoral system is based on plurality-on-large with 29 electoral districts. The Speaker of the State Great Khural is elected by the members of the parliament, and one deputy speaker is appointed by each political party or coalition with at least 10 seats in the parliament.
Political developments
Since the 1990s Until June 1996, the predominant party in Mongolia was the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP). The country's first democratically elected president was Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat, who served from September 1990 to June 1997. Ochirbat was a member of the MPRP until the 1993 presidential election, when he was nominated as a candidate by the opposition Mongolian Social Democratic Party (MNDP) and the Mongolian National Democratic Party (MNDP).
Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, as the chairman of the MNDP, co-led the Democratic Union Coalition to its first historic victory in the 1996 parliamentary elections, winning 50 out of 76 parliamentary seats. The Democratic Union, between the MNDP, the MSDP and the Mongolian Green Party, was in power from 1996 to 2000. Mendsaikhany Enkhsaikhan, election manager of Democratic Union, worked as the prime minister from 7 July 1996 to 23 April 1998. In 1998, a clause in the constitution was removed that prohibited members of parliament to take cabinet responsibility. Thus on 23 April 1998, the parliament elected (61–6) Democratic chairman and caucus leader Elbegdorj as the prime minister. Due to the minority MPRP's demand, Elbegdorj lost a confidence vote at the Parliament and triggered a government crisis.
He stayed as caretaker prime minister until a successor was nominated by the State Great Khural. Elbegdorj was succeeded by Janlavyn Narantsatsralt (MNDP) on 9 December 1998. Janlavyn Narantsatsralt worked as the prime minister for eight months until his resignation in July 1999. Rinchinnyamyn Amarjargal became Democratic Party's new chairman and served as the prime minister from 30 July 1999 to 26 July 2000. In 1997, Natsagiin Bagabandi (MPRP) was elected as the country's president in the 1997 presidential election. He was re-elected as president in 2001 presidential election and served as the country's president until 2005.
Since the 2000s As a result of the 2000 parliamentary elections, the MPRP was back in power in the parliament and the government as well as the presidency. The vote in the 2004 parliamentary elections was evenly split between the two major political forces – the ruling MPRP and the opposition Motherland Democratic Coalition between the Democratic Party (DP), the Motherland Party and the Civil Will–Republican Party. Neither side had the enough seats to form a government. Thus, a coalition government between the coalition and the MPRP was established. On 20 August 2004, Elbegdorj became the prime minister for the second time as the leader of the grand coalition government.
In the 2005 presidential election, former prime minister and parliamentary speaker Nambaryn Enkhbayar (MPRP) was elected as the country's president in a four-way race. Later in 2006, the MPRP exitted the coalition government, causing Elbegdorj's cabinet to collapse in January 2006. Consequently, the MPRP formed its own cabinet with minor parliamentary parties. In the 2008 parliamentary elections, the MPRP won 45 of the 76 seats while the DP won 27 seats with the three remaining seats going to minor parties and an independent. The landslide victory of the MPRP triggered concerns of electoral fraud amongst the opposition. Soon on 1 July 2008, a peaceful demonstration against vote rigging turned into a riot that led to the burning of the MPRP headquarters, looting of several nearby businesses, and the declaration of a 4-day state of emergency. After a month-long political deadlock, the MPRP formed a coalition government with the DP despite having enough seats to form a government alone in parliament.
On 24 May 2009, in the 2009 presidential election, the DP candidate Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj made a victory over incumbent President Nambaryn Enkhbayar. Elbegdorj was sworn into office on 18 June 2009 and became Mongolia's first non-MPRP member president and the first to obtain a Western education.
Since the 2010s In 2010, the former communist MPRP reverted its name to its original 1921 name, the Mongolian People's Party (MPP), and shifted from democratic socialism to social democracy. After his defeat in the 2009 presidential election and party leadership change, ex-president Nambaryn Enkhbayar established a new political party, the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, after receiving the old name of Mongolian People's Party from the Supreme Court in 2010. Enkhbayar became the chairman of the new party.
In June 2012, the DP won the 2012 parliamentary elections and became the plurality in the parliament with 34 seats. The DP established a coalition government with Civil Will-Green Party (2 seats), and Justice Coalition (11 seats) of the new MPRP and the Mongolian National Democratic Party. The MPP secured only 26 seats. Incumbent president Elbegdorj was re-elected in the 2013 Mongolian presidential election on 26 June 2013. Between 2012 and 2016, the DP had been in power holding both the presidency and the government.
Due to economic downfall, the party suffered a landslide defeat in that year's parliamentary election. Despite receiving over 30% of the total constituency vote, the DP was reduced to only 9 seats. The MPP won a supermajority of 65 seats. Former governor of Selenge Province Jargaltulgyn Erdenebat became the prime minister of an all-MPP cabinet. The now-opposition DP narrowly retained the presidency in the 2017 presidential election, in which Khaltmaagiin Battulga was elected to succeed outgoing two-term president Elbegdorj. The defeat of MPP chairman and presidential nominee Miyeegombyn Enkhbold in the 2017 election led to an infighting within the party. The infighting led to the resignation of prime minister Erdenebat and appointment of deputy prime minister Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, who later became the party chairman. Since 2016, Mongolia had a divided government, with the MPP having an overwhelming majority in the State Great Khural, while the DP held the presidency.
Since the 2020s