ODIHR experts discuss electoral recommendations in Mongolia

From 5 to 8 April 2022 a team of election experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) met with electoral stakeholders in Mongolia to present the final report of ODIHR’s Special Election Assessment Mission to the 9 June 2021 presidential election.

The report’s findings and recommendations were presented to representatives of the General Election Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Audit Office, the Communications Regulatory Commission, the Administrative Court of Appeals, the Parliamentary Committee on State Structure, and other government ministries and agencies, as well as to representatives of civil society organizations and the international community.

“ODIHR encourages the government and other stakeholders to start working on electoral reforms well ahead of the next elections,” said Lolita Cigane, Head of ODIHR’s Special Election Assessment Mission to the 2021 presidential election. “We greatly value our co-operation with our Mongolian partners and are looking forward to holding discussions in the near future on how to further strengthen Mongolia’s electoral process.”

ODIHR reiterated that the elections were well-administered and competitive, with candidates able freely to convey their platforms to voters. However certain regulations, including those on the right to stand and on media coverage of the elections, are overly restrictive. ODIHR drew attention to its priority recommendations, such as allowing for independent candidates and nominations from non-parliamentary parties, as well as measures to improve the regulation of the campaign, campaign financing, and the media.

The authorities discussed ODIHR’s potential engagement in providing legal and technical expertise to assist in implementing these recommendations. This may include discussions or a legal review related to potential changes to the electoral system and amendments to the electoral legislation, and the potential contribution from ODIHR to exploratory discussions related to the implementation of electronic voting.

All OSCE participating States have committed to promptly follow up on ODIHR’s electoral assessments and recommendations.