Presidential elections were held in Mongolia on 26 June 2017. Incumbent president Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, first elected in 2009 and re-elected in 2013, was constitutionally barred from running for a third term.Presidential election planned for June 26 Montsame, 26 January 2017
For the first time, no candidate received a majority vote in the first round, forcing a run-off between the Democratic Party (DP) candidate Khaltmaagiin Battulga and the Mongolian People's Party (MPP) candidate Miyeegombyn Enkhbold on 7 July, brought forward from 9 July.No decisive winner in Mongolia presidential vote: election committee Reuters, 26 June 2017Presidential election:second ballot on July 9 Montsame, 26 June 2017Election of the President of Mongolia moved to July 7 ARD, 28 June 2017 The third-placed Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) candidate Sainkhuugiin Ganbaatar refused to recognise the results after he missed out on the second round, due to finishing 1,849 votes behind Enkhbold. Ganbaatar claimed fraud and that an additional 35,000 votes had been added to the total. The MPRP demanded a recount of votes in Bayan-Ölgii Province.
In the second round, Battulga was narrowly elected with 50.61% of the valid votes, or 55% of the votes cast for a candidate, while Enkhbold received 44.85% of the votes cast. Battulga was officially inaugurated as the fifth president of Mongolia on 10 July 2017.
Background
2016 parliamentary election
In the 2016 parliamentary election, the then-governing Democratic Party (DP) faced a major electoral defeat, maintaining only 9 of its previous 35 seats in the State Great Khural. The MPP, in comparison, won a supermajority of 65 seats. Alongside the two dominant parties, the MPRP and an independent candidate, respectively, won a single seat.
Despite the landslide victory, Enkhbold, as chairperson of the MPP, decided not to assume the role of prime minister and instead became speaker of parliament. Jargaltulgyn Erdenebat was nominated and appointed as the next prime minister, which became a setback for Enkhbold's personal popularity. The 2016 local elections in October saw the MPP win another landslide victory in all of the provincial, district, and capital governorships and legislatures, all except Zavkhan Province.
Prior to the 2017 presidential election, the Erdenebat cabinet's decisions to increase seven types of taxes, cut social care, and extend the retirement age all faced public outcry. A range of public opinion surveys conducted before or during the election established that these decisions led to a disillusionment with the MPP.
Electoral system The President of Mongolia is elected using the two-round system.Mongolia IFES Mongolian electoral law considers the blank votes casts in presidential elections as valid votes. The General Election Commission (GEC) thus includes blank votes in its calculations of the proportion of the vote won by each candidate; as a result, it is possible for no candidate to receive a majority of the vote in the second round. If this happens, the entire election is annulled and fresh elections would be held with new candidates.Law on Election Ace Project
Nominees Three political parties with seats in the State Great Khural were eligible to nominate a presidential candidate; the Mongolian People's Party (MPP), the Democratic Party (DP) and the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP).Who will be the fifth President of Mongolia? The UB Post, 9 January 2017
Mongolian People's Party Candidates for the MPP presidential bid were selected from a party public survey on 2 May 2017. About 50,000 people participated in the sociological survey. The top five most favoured politicians — Miyeegombyn Enkhbold, Tsendiin Nyamdorj, Ölziisaikhany Enkhtüvshin, Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, Badmaanyambuugiin Bat-Erdene — were proposed and discussed as potential primary candidates. During the party board meeting on 2 May, Enkhtüvshin, Khürelsükh and Bat-Erdene withdrew their names to support the party policy.
Enkhbold and Nyamdorj ran for the MPP presidential nomination on 3 May 2017, during a party conference. Out of the 259 governing board members, Enkhbold received 85% of the total vote and was chosen as the MPP pick for the 2017 presidential election. Nyamdorj was eliminated from the primary with 14.3% for PresidentChairman of the Mongolian People's Party (2013–2017)
Withdrawn or eliminated candidates Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawal from the primariesTsendiin NyamdorjÖlziisaikhany EnkhtüvshinUkhnaagiin KhürelsükhBadmaanyambuugiin Bat-ErdeneMinister of Justice and Internal Affairs (2008–2012)Chairman of the Mongolian People's Party (2012–2013)Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia (2016–2017)Minister of Defense (2016–2017)Bökh, sambo, judo wrestlerEliminated: May 3 37 votes (14.3%)Withdrew: May 2 Did not participate in primaryWithdrew: May 2 Did not participate in primaryWithdrew: May 2 Did not participate in primary +The VII Mongolian People's Party Conference Vote on 3 May 2017CandidateResultsVotes%Miyeegombyn Enkhbold 22285.71Tsendiin Nyamdorj 3714.28
Democratic Party A total of eight people from the Democratic Party announced their bid for the presidential race as of 28 April. Presidential hopefuls included former prime minister Norovyn Altankhuyag, Rinchinnyamyn Amarjargal, former party chairman Dambiin Dorligjav, former Ulaanbaatar mayor Erdeniin Bat-Üül, historian Bat-Erdeniin Batbayar (colloquially known as Baabar), and Khaltmaagiin Battulga. Out of the eight nominees, six people registered to compete in the primaries on 2 May.
The DP chose Battulga as its nominee for the 2017 presidential election during its VIII Convention, which took place from 2nd to 4th of May. The DP candidate was picked via a poll held during the convention; Battulga, who had the highest score, was chosen. for PresidentSambo wrestling ChampionMember of the State Great Khural (2004–2016)
Withdrawn or eliminated candidates Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawal from the primariesRinchinnyamyn AmarjargalDambiin DorligjavNorovyn AltankhuyagLuvsanvandangiin BoldBazarsadyn JargalsaikhanErdeniin Bat-ÜülBat-Erdeniin BatbayarPrime Minister of Mongolia (1999–2000)Chairman of the Democratic Party (2000–2002)Prime Minister of Mongolia (2012–2014)Minister of Foreign Affairs (2012–2014)Businessman and chairman of the Republican PartyMayor of Ulaanbaatar (2012–2016)Essayist, political analystEliminated: May 4 2,374.85 scoreEliminated: May 4 1,058.64 scoreEliminated: May 4 1,044.20 scoreEliminated: May 4 917.30 scoreEliminated: May 4 213.66 scoreWithdrew: May 2 Did not register for the primaryWithdrew: May 2 Did not register for the primary Erdeniin Bat-Üül, former mayor of Ulaanbaatar and key figure of the 1990 Democratic Revolution, did not register for the 3-4 May primary. Instead, he called upon fellow DP members to boycott the 2017 presidential election to "prevent the MPP from once again stealing an election, illegally and unconstitutionally." +The VIII Democratic Party Convention Primary on 3 May 2017CandidateResultsPointsKhaltmaagiin Battulga 2,740.94Rinchinnyamyn Amarjargal 2,374.85Dambiin Dorligjav 1,058.64Norovyn Altankhuyag 1,044.20Luvsanvandangiin Bold 917.30Bazarsadyn Jargalsaikhan 213.66
Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party The MPRP had originally selected former president Nambaryn Enkhbayar as its candidate at the MPRP's XVI party conference on 5 May. However, the GEC refused to allow Enkhbayar to run as a candidate as he had an outstanding criminal record and had not spent the last five years in the country, having lived abroad from August 2013 until October 2014. As a result, the party selected a non-MPRP member and former chairperson of the National Labour Party, Sainkhuugiin Ganbaatar, as its candidate on 16 May. Prior on 6 May, Ganbaatar did not rule out the possibility of running as the MPRP candidate on a TV9 broadcast. The party's sole MP, Oktyabriin Baasankhüü, opposed Ganbaatar's nomination and left the party on 17 May. for PresidentMember of the State Great Khural (2012–2016)
Rejected candidates Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawalNambaryn Enkhbayar3rd President of Mongolia (2005–2009)Rejected by the GEC: May 14 Registered candidates On 11 May, the GEC received all the registration documents from the three nominees — Enkhbold (MPP), Battulga (DP), and Enkhbayar (MPRP). The GEC announced its decision to register Enkhbold and Battulga and reject Enkhbayar's registration on 14 May. Subsequently, after the MPRP nominated Ganbaatar on 16 May, the GEC officially registered Ganbaatar's candidacy on 18 May. The candidate's orders were ordered according to the amount of party seats in parliament. NamesBornSloganLast positionPartyMiyeegombyn Enkhbold()Ulaanbaatar, MongoliaЭвтэй Монгол,Ээлтэй Төр (lit. 'Harmonious Mongolia,Well-willed Government')Chairman of the State Great Khural(2016–2019)Chairman of the MPP(2013–2017)Prime Minister of Mongolia(2006–2007)Mongolia opposition taps former judo star as presidential candidate Reuters, 4 May 2017Mongolian People's PartyKhaltmaagiin Battulga()Ulaanbaatar, MongoliaМонгол ялна (lit. 'Mongolia will win')President of the Mongolian Judo Association(since 2006)Member of the State Great Khural(2004–2016)Democratic Party of MongoliaSainkhüügiin Ganbaatar()Bayankhongor, MongoliaӨөр гарц байна.Бидэнд итгэ (lit. 'There's another way out.Trust us.')Member of the State Great Khural(2012–2016)Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party
Campaign
Candidates for the election had 18 days, 24 hours before the election was conducted on 26 June, to campaign after being registered by the GEC. Campaigning officially started on 27 May when all three candidates received their candidate ID cards from the GEC.
Battulga, a judoka and businessman, campaigned on a "Mongolia First" policy. Political analysts drew similarities between Battulga's populist campaign and U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign.
Ganbaatar, meanwhile, campaigned on resource nationalism. Prior to and during his presidential candidacy, he strongly positioned himself against the current establishment politics and alleged MPP-DP cabal.
On 23 May, a video of Ganbaatar receiving a 50 million KRW (equivalent to 100 million MNT) donation from a South Korean citizen was uploaded anonymously and spread across social media. According to the Law on Election, a candidate is prohibited from receiving donations from a foreign country, company, or citizen. The National Police Agency confirmed the recording as real and transferred the case to the court of Bayanzurkh District the following day, on 22 June. The court, without enough time, allowed Ganbaatar to remain on the ballot and later finalized the case after the election in October 2017.
Debates
The three candidates agreed to participate in a two-hour-long debate on the last day of campaigning. The presidential debate was conducted and broadcast by the Mongolian National Broadcaster (MNB) on 24 June at 21:00 PM, four days before the election. Prior to the 2017 presidential debate, the MNB received the debate questions from the public via an online portal from 22 June 9:00 AM to 23 June 24:00 AM.
Battulga and Enkhbold advanced to the second round, with Battulga overperforming both Enkhbold and Ganbaatar by around 8 per cent. On June 28, the GEC announced that the second round will be held on the 7th of July, before the traditional Naadam festival.
Opinion polls Opinion polls conducted by MEC Barometer and MMCG Research Centre prior to 28 June showed Battulga leading the other candidates by a relatively small margin. Polling firmFieldwork dateSample sizeEnkhboldMPPBattulgaDPGanbaatarMPRPNone//MEC17 May 2017–11.029.014.013.033.0MMCG Research Centre24 May 2017–27.735.630.5––MEC10 June 20171,09915.031.015.011.028.0MMCG Research Centre11 June 2017–29.931.131.8––MMCG Research Centre18 June 2017–27.634.032.4––