Yearly Archives: 2017

Change in the Countryside – June 2017

By Julian Dierkes For some years, I have now taken notes about visible changes in Ulaanbaatar on my periodic visits. In part this is note-taking for my own self, because there are so many things that I don’t remember already … Continue reading

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State of Digital Diplomacy in Mongolia Missions

By Julian Dierkes With the appointment of Z Enkbold as chief of staff and Ts Sukhbaatar as foreign policy advisor, Pres. Battulga’s foreign policy team is coming together. Foreign policy, of course, is one of the areas of policy-making that … Continue reading

Posted in Australia, Canada, Digital Diplomacy, Foreign Policy, Germany, Japan, Mongolia and ..., North Korea, Russia, South Korea, UN, United States | Tagged | Leave a comment

More Graduates of Archery 101

By Julian Dierkes & Mendee Two years ago, Mendee posted some photos of world leaders visiting Mongolia and encountering archery. In June, we finally had a chance to have the experience ourselves, thanks to Mendee’s childhood friend who is an … Continue reading

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Who Abstained in the Run-Off?

By Julian Dierkes On the day before the second round of the presidential election, my biggest question was about the movement to encourage voters to submit blank ballots, essentialy voting none-of-the-above. We have known since election night that just under … Continue reading

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Reflection on Second Round [Video]

By Julian Dierkes With the second round of the presidential election on July 7, the “election season” has come to an end and I summarize its result in this brief video. Obviously, our attention now turns to what the future … Continue reading

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Big Questions on Voting Day

By Julian Dierkes The run-off in the 2017 presidential contest is upon us. Since June 26 there has been no campaigning, but a number of developments with a likely impact on the run-off result have occurred. 1. White Ballot Movement … Continue reading

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Women Run Mongolian Elections, But They Don’t Run In Them

By Julian Dierkes When you go to vote in Mongolia, look around in the polling station. Like so many (government) offices, the polling stations are run by women. Yes, every once in a while, there will be a man as … Continue reading

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I Don’t Understand the Calculations Behind Electoral Fraud

By Julian Dierkes I was shocked during election observation on June 26, again, how much of a contrast there is between the diligence and care with which polling stations and voting procedures are run, and the public perception of the … Continue reading

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The Mechanics of a Blank Ballot

By Julian Dierkes First, the presidential election campaign was sleepy. Then it turned sleezy. Now, things got exciting because some Mongolians seem to have found a strategy to fight back against two-party dominance and the “offer” of a choice of … Continue reading

Posted in Governance, JD Democratization, Presidential 2017, Social Movements | Tagged | 1 Comment

Ganbaatar Voters in 2nd Round

By Julian Dierkes Ganbaatar received roughly 30% of the votes in the June 26 presidential election. One of the big questions about the July 7 2nd Round of voting is thus whom those Ganbaatar voters will support. Enkhbayar Negotiations To … Continue reading

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Observations during Presidential Polling

By Julian Dierkes From the perspective of a repeat election observer (this was my fifth national election for which I served as an international observer), the reporting about the election is always somewhat challenging. On the one hand, I gain … Continue reading

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Gobi Success for Ganbaatar

By Julian Dierkes The electoral map from Monday’s results holds a number of surprises. One of the more puzzling ones is Ganbaatar’s strong results across the Gobi region. Umnugovi For example, in Umnugovi fully 43% of voters supported Ganbaatar on … Continue reading

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Presidential Elections: 3 Things Happened

By Julian Dierkes The results of the June 26 presidential election has come as a big surprise. I did not expect Battulga to win and certainly did not expect Enkhbold to struggle to finish 2nd. Lots of questions to think … Continue reading

Posted in JD Democratization, Presidential 2017 | Tagged | 5 Comments

Presidential Debate or FAQ?

By Mendee The presidential campaign closed with a two-hour debate on June 24.  Under the agreement between the DP, MPP, and MPRP for the debate, candidates were basically provided opportunities to express their views on frequently rumoured allegations during the … Continue reading

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Reflection on Campaign & Outlook [Video]

By Julian Dierkes If you’re tired of all our blog post or of my convoluted prose, here’s a 2-minute wrap-up of the presidential campaign and a little bit of an outlook.

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