Category Archives: Elections

Cabinet Reshuffle

By Julian Dierkes Roughly a month after MPP members were kicked out of cabinet, we now appear to have a Saikhanbileg II cabinet forming. Cabinet Composition The new cabinet members are: G Bayarsaikhan (DP), Min of Labour B Bolor (DP), … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Party, Government, Ikh Khural 2016, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Ulaanbaatar Impressions

By Julian Dierkes Yes, another periodic visit to Ulaanbaatar, yes once again too short a visit, but here are some immediate impressions along the lines of observations on previous visits that I noted down: May 2015 | November 2014 | May 2014 … Continue reading

Posted in Change, Curios, Ikh Khural 2016, Politics, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | 2 Comments

Politics in Late Summer 2015

By Julian Dierkes I’m about to head to Ulaanbaatar for a very brief visit. While summer is a time of parliamentary recess and Naadam, it has been a bit more eventful than usual with the de facto dissolution of PM … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Party, Elections, Foreign Investment, Ikh Khural 2016, JD Democratization, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics, Politics, Public Opinion | Tagged | Leave a comment

Concrete Information on Corruption Paints Depressing Picture

By Julian Dierkes I have written about corruption in various contexts in the past, most recently comparing the context of anti-corruption movements in India and Mongolia. In that post, I wrote that, “Petty corruption, systemic corruption, as well as grand … Continue reading

Posted in Corruption, Governance, Ikh Khural 2016, JD Democratization, Politics, Public Opinion, Social Issues | Tagged | 2 Comments

Guest Post: National Labour Party – Хөдөлмөрийн Үндэсний Нам

Bulgan Batdorj Since their first forum “National Development – Mongol Person” in February this year, the Development Hun (ХҮН/Hun = person, individual) club expressed its intent of becoming a political force, but had not settled on both type (political movement, … Continue reading

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Planning for 2016 УИХ Election

By Julian Dierkes In June 2016, Mongolians will be voting for a new parliament, the Улсын Их Хурал. Having served as an election observer in the last four national elections, I’m thinking about what activities could be undertaken now to prepare … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Elections, Ikh Khural 2016, JD Democratization, Media and Press, Party Politics | Tagged | 5 Comments

Feeling (Politically) Pessimistic for Coming Year

By Julian Dierkes It is Tsagaan Sar, so happy new year to all of Mongolia and to Mongolians! Сар шинэдээ сайхан шинэлээрэй What will the year of the sheep bring? The sheep Gestalt (зурхай) seems to expect a windy Spring and … Continue reading

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Democratic Party, Economics, Elections, Foreign Investment, Governance, Ikh Khural 2016, Inflation, JD Democratization, JD Mining Governance, Mongolian People's Party, Oyu Tolgoi, Party Politics, Policy, Politics, Populism, Security Apparatus | Tagged | 2 Comments

State-Sponsored Formalization of Household Herding in Rural Bayanhongor

“A herder is master of 1000 professions.” President Elbegdorj, printed at the top of herder diplomas The Presence of the State in Rural Mongolia Over the course of my dissertation fieldwork in Mongolia, I spent a considerable amount of time … Continue reading

Posted in Ariell Ahearn, Countryside, Education, Nomadism, Presidential 2013, Research on Mongolia | 1 Comment

Subscores: Freedom in the World Report

When the 2014 Freedom in the World report was released on January 23, it came with the following map: At the time I tweeted, “That dot of hopeful green in a see of authoritarian purple is #Mongolia #FIW“. I also … Continue reading

Posted in Corruption, Democracy, Elections, Governance, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | 1 Comment

Mongolian Presidential Election Ends in Ruling Democratic Party’s Favor

On July 3, the Mongolian parliament endorsed Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj’s second term as the country’s president, based on the General Election Commission’s report (Press Release of the Mongolian parliament, July 3). The swearing-in ceremony will be organized on July 10, on … Continue reading

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Vote Shares by Regions

Among the data that the General Election Commission has made available quickly is the breakdown by Aimag and Ulaanbaatar ridings. It’s quite clear from a glance that Elbegdorj has won this election on the strength of his showing in the … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Party, Elections, JD Democratization, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Party Politics, Politics, Presidential 2013 | Tagged | 1 Comment

Digesting the Results of the Presidential Election

I will be updating, changing, adding to and deleting from this post continuously this morning (June 27 in Ulaanbaatar) as I sort my thoughts and understanding of the result of the presidential election. At 8:30h it seems like the GEC … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Party, Elections, JD Democratization, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Party Politics, Politics, Presidential 2013 | Tagged | Leave a comment

Investigating the Rural Vote

Over the past weekend, I was very fortunate to have the chance to travel to Khentii Aimag and to speak to a number of locals. I was particularly interested in how the campaign messages of the three candidates played in … Continue reading

Posted in Curios, Presidential 2013 | Tagged | Leave a comment

Presidential Q&A

The general view in Ulaanbaatar was that Bat-Erdene was trailing Elbegdorj significantly in voter support in some part because of his lack of political experience, and profile and the fact that he doesn’t “look presidential”. This latter judgement is not … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Party, Education, Elections, Foreign Policy, Judiciary, Mining, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Party Politics, Presidential 2013, Security Apparatus, Social Issues | Tagged | 2 Comments

Bits and Pieces about the Campaign and Upcoming Vote

Three days remain in the presidential campaign, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. In central Ulaanbaatar, there still is very little of a sense of excitement or at least public drama around the campaign. Certainly, residents of the downtown core are a … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Party, Elections, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Presidential 2013 | Tagged | Leave a comment