Crossroads Asia | Politics | East Asia

Mongolia’s Long Struggle to Ensure Accountability in Governance

Is a new bill the answer, or just the latest iteration of factional infighting in the ruling MPP?

In April, the Mongolian parliament, the Great State Khural, passed President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa’s Bill to Rescind Parliament Members, which allows the incumbent president to probe members of parliament (MPs) on ethics and moral grounds as public government representatives. The bill sparked constitutional and governance debate among scholars and policy pundits concerning the balance of power and checks and balances of the Mongolian government. In principle and in practice, however, the bill shows potential for strengthening and filling in the legislative gaps of accountability. 

Mongolia’s current governance model is categorized as a flawed democracy with a semi-presidential system. Mongolia’s president and the parliamentary members are directly elected by the people. While the Great State Khural is the main legislative body of the Mongolian government, the constitution also allows the president and the Cabinet to propose laws and legislation to the parliament. 

Since 2019, Mongolia has been adjusting its governance model to strengthen accountability and representation for its citizens. That year, a Constitutional amendment limited the president to a single six-year term, without the option of seeking a second term. That was followed by the 2023 constitutional amendment, which enlarged Mongolia’s Parliament from 76 to 126 members. These structural changes aim to impact the balance of power, not only within political parties but also in terms of the government’s checks and balances. 

Authors at the Verfassungsblog wrote: 

A new constitutional culture is thus emerging in Mongolia, one marked by a growing reliance on the Court, which is increasingly perceived as the only effective check on the entrenched power of political parties. In this context, peaceful popular protests have become also an essential means for citizens to express their demands and influence parliamentary behavior.

A new constitutional culture is thus emerging in Mongolia, one marked by a growing reliance on the Court, which is increasingly perceived as the only effective check on the entrenched power of political parties. In this context, peaceful popular protests have become also an essential means for citizens to express their demands and influence parliamentary behavior.

In March, when the Office of the President proposed the Bill to Rescind Parliament Members to the State Great Khural legislators debated whether the bill is a breach of Khurelsukh’s presidential power. Critics said the bill could allow him direct power over the parliament itself, as well as parliamentary procedures. 

The stated rationale behind the bill was to create another layer of accountability and establish a system whereby political parties are responsible for their party candidates serving as legislative representatives of the Mongolian people. Legislatively, the Bill aims to create an active mechanism that pressures the Parliamentary Ethics Subcommittee to strengthen its ethics and accountability standards – and thus restore public trust amid political instability and high corruption. 

When the bill was introduced, however, MPs and political commentators reacted differently. 

Despite criticism on Khurelsukh’s proposal of the bill,........

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