Mongolia to re-poll parliamentary by-election due to low voter turnout
Mongolia will hold another round of voting for parliamentary elections today due to previous low voter turnout.
The decision by the General Election Commission (GEC) followed low voter turnout of 37.04 percent in Khentii Province and 39.61 percent in the capital Ulaanbaatar, prompting a new poll under Mongolian law. Leading up to the presidential elections in June, the ruling Mongolian Peoples’ Party (MPP) was accused of politicizing the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, and the General Election Committee, with six members of parliament going on a hunger strike. As a result, the MPP has also held a majority of the 76 seats in parliament since 2016, leading to concerns that Mongolia is headed towards one-party rule for the first time since the collapse of the communist regime in 1990.
Combined with pandemic-related restrictions that led to leader debates being canceled and declining political engagement, trust in key national institutions remains a longer-term concern for the political and economic wellbeing of the country. Although it is unclear whether there will be higher voter turnout this time around, given ongoing trends, expect the MPP to continue to dominate Mongolia’s political scene.
Wake up smarter with an assessment of the stories that will make headlines in the next 24 hours. Download The Daily Brief.
