The pro-communist Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) recently pushed for a hasty amendment to the Law on Presidential Elections that would bar the incumbent president from running for re-election. Photo shows incumbent Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga arriving at the Council of Europe for the Asia-Europe Meeting, Oct. 18, 2018.
U.S. Senators sent a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken calling the U.S. State Department’s attention to the current political situation in Mongolia and issuing a statement.
In the letter, Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Senate Budget Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) wrote: “Recent political developments may portend the future of democracy in that country.”
“As you know, Mongolia has been a remarkable story of democratic success, especially given its precarious position between two authoritarian neighbors – namely the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation. The former has intended to invade Mongolia in the past, and may still harbor such attempts.”
Mongolia’s political system is “semi-presidential,” with a parliament and a publicly elected president who presides over the National Security Council and serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
On April 29, a month before the presidential election, the Mongolian People’s Party (MPP), which has a majority in parliament, hastily pushed through a law changing the rules for presidential elections, which was passed in seven minutes. The new law would ban presidential re-election. The law is seen as an attempt to remove incumbent Khaltmaagiin Battulga from the ballot, as he is likely to be re-elected.
The Mongolian People’s Party controls the Constitutional Court by influencing the appointment and removal of its members. The main duty of the Constitutional Court members, in addition to their established tasks, is to protect the Constitution. Direct changes to the rules for presidential elections also weaken the court’s independence.
They are doing so in a blatant and shameless manner, the Mongolian president said in his “Presidential Address on the Protection of Democracy in Mongolia” issued on April 23.
The presidential media ministry said members of the People’s Party, some of whom led Mongolia’s communist rule until the 1990 democratic revolution, have made various attempts to control elections and are now seeking to return to power and restore one-party dictatorship.
In the letter, the senators said, “The (Mongolian) parliament, judiciary and president have recently taken controversial actions, including: the hasty adoption of amendments to the Law on Presidential Elections that prohibit the incumbent president from seeking re-election, the removal of a constitutional court judge who may challenge the constitutionality of parliamentary action, and the president’s urgent appeal to the Supreme Court to dissolve the ruling party. This has triggered a political crisis that could undermine the credibility of the June 9 presidential election.”
“We are concerned that this chain of events could make Mongolia increasingly vulnerable to the influence of the Chinese Communist Party, able to undermine Mongolia’s democracy, rule of law and its judicial system through collusion and bribery of certain Mongolian leaders.”
In November 2016, following the Dalai Lama’s visit, the Chinese Communist Party imposed economic sanctions on Mongolia. Tsend Munkh-Orgil, then foreign minister and belonging to the Mongolian People’s Party (MPP), publicly supported Beijing and asked Mongolian authorities to ban the Dalai Lama from visiting again, an unprecedented move given that Tibetan Buddhism is Mongolia’s main religion.
The PPP’s general secretary reportedly made similar comments on the occasion of the PPP’s 100th anniversary in March 2021, and there have been several formal exchanges between the Chinese Communist Party and the Mongolian PPP in recent years involving the general secretary and other senior members of the PPP.
Because of its unique geopolitical positioning, Mongolia’s relationship with the United States is not without importance and provides opportunities for cooperation between the two countries.
The U.S. Department of State’s Congressional Budget Justification for Foreign Operations clearly states, “The primary purpose of U.S. assistance to Mongolia is to ensure that the United States remains a favorable partner in the face of its geographic neighbors, Russia and China, and to assist Mongolia in securing greater latitude in its foreign independence and security policies.”
The senators concluded, “In light of these developments, we would urge the State Department to engage in dialogue with all relevant political parties to ease growing tensions, ensure that no candidate is arbitrarily disqualified from running for office, give each party the right to nominate a candidate and appear on the presidential ballot, and encourage Mongolia to maintain an impartial judiciary. “
They added: “Promoting democracy must continue to be a core element of our foreign policy, especially when authoritarian forces like the Chinese Communist Party are constantly eroding these values around the world.”
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