Under 2019 amendments to the 1992 constitution, the president is head of state and is directly elected for a single six-year term. President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh of the Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) was elected in June 2021.

The June 2021 campaign occurred with some COVID-19 restrictions in place. Voter turnout reached 59.35 percent, only slightly lower than in 2017. Khürelsükh won 67.69 percent of the vote, attaining the greatest margin of victory in any presidential election since 1990. National Labor Party (NLP) candidate Enkhbat Dangaasuren received 20.3 percent and Democratic Party (DP) candidate Sodnomzundui Erdene received 5.99 percent. There were no significant irregularities reported by an observer mission from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai was confirmed by the parliament to replace Khürelsükh as prime minister in January 2021 and is still in that post.

Members of the 76-seat parliament, the State Great Hural, are elected for four-year terms. All members were elected to multimember constituencies in the June 2020 elections, with 48 elected via simple-majority voting and 28 via proportional representation. The MPP won 62 seats while the DP won 11. The NLP, the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party, and an independent each won 1 seat. Turnout stood at 73.7 percent. An OSCE electoral observation mission was present.

Electoral laws are generally fair. While the General Election Commission is sometimes regarded with suspicion over political influence, no major complaints arose from its management of previous elections.

Constitutional amendments passed in May 2023 increased the number of seats in the State Great Hural from 76 to 126, a change that will take effect with the election due in June 2024. Some 78 seats will decided via a majoritarian system and the remainder via proportional representation. The amendments also elevated future provisions about the electoral system to constitutional status.

While the Mongolian political system features multiple parties, it has also been marked by the dominance of the MPP and DP in the past. The NLP, by comparison, holds one seat in the current parliament.

Parties are built around clientelist patronage networks rather than policy platforms. Representatives of large business groups play an important role in funding and directing the MPP and DP.

There are no undue barriers preventing opposition parties from gaining power through elections, though there are practical hurdles. Many Mongolians perceive the party system to be closed, due to the need to raise financial capital to participate in elections.

The opposition DP remains in some disarray from years of internal conflict, though Luvsannyam Gantumur, the chairman selected in January 2023, aims to rebuild the party’s strength for the 2024 election. The rise in support for the NLP illustrates that there is room for a new party to gain support. That party has begun to recruit parliamentary candidates for the election due in 2024, intending to offer a full slate when that poll occurs.

Powerful business interests maintain some influence over candidates and have supported them through a nontransparent party-finance system. However, candidates and voters are generally free to make political choices without excessive outside influence, in part because corporate interests are balanced across various political-party factions and among lawmakers.

The Law on Political Parties was amended in July 2023 to institutionalize internal party democracy more firmly and to regulate the candidate selection process.

All adult citizens other than those who are incarcerated are entitled to full political rights, and these are generally observed in practice. However, women remain underrepresented in politics, holding 18.1 percent of the parliament’s seats as of December 2023 and few senior government posts. Under the constitutional amendments passed in May, a 30 percent gender quota was introduced, with a 40 percent quota to be enforced at the 2028 election. The amended Law on Political Parties imposed a 40 percent gender quota for political-party leadership posts.

Ethnic Kazakh parliamentarians are regularly elected in Bayan-Ölgii, which is predominantly Kazakh.

LGBT+ people face some societal discrimination that hampers their ability to advocate for their interests in the political sphere, though such advocacy has been increasing in recent years.

Freely elected representatives are duly seated and generally able to craft government policy without improper interference. However, lawmakers are constrained by the limited resources available to advance legislative initiatives. The party apparatus generally does not develop policy proposals or legislative initiatives.

Corruption, which is endemic in Mongolia, is widely perceived to have worsened in recent years, particularly with respect to state involvement in the mining sector. Anticorruption laws are vaguely written and infrequently enforced. The Independent Authority Against Corruption has been criticized as ineffective in pursuing cases.

In response to the 2022 protests prompted by allegations of corruption at Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi, a state-owned coal mining enterprise, the MPP government vowed to address corruption in government and in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), stolen funds, and the need to protect whistleblowers in 2023. An anticorruption law was not placed under consideration by year’s end.

While there are many laws and regulations designed to maintain government transparency and accountability, implementation and enforcement is inconsistent. The 2011 Law on Information and Transparency and Right to Information contains exemptions allowing certain types of information to be withheld from the public, which authorities often invoke to limit disclosures. The 2019 constitutional amendments established an auditing body that would maintain powers over the government. The E-Mongolia platform, which is meant to make government services more accessible, launched in 2020 and remains a priority on Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene’s agenda.

Press freedom is generally respected, and media outlets collectively present a wide range of views. However, coverage can be partisan; the 2021 OSCE election observation mission report that many outlets are dependent on the finances of their politically connected owners, who attempt to exert editorial control. Ownership of media companies remains opaque. Many journalists self-censor to avoid offending political or business interests and facing costly libel or defamation suits.

In October 2023, zarig.mn editor in chief Unurtsetseg Naran was accused of “spreading false information” over social media comments criticizing the justice system. In December, she was arrested and placed in pretrial detention over those charges. The journalist remained in detention at year’s end.

Individuals are free to practice their religion under the law and in practice, though religious groups are required to register with the government and the ease of registration procedures varies by region and locality.

Academic freedom is generally respected.

There are few formal and significant impediments to free and open private discussion. Yet, for some years, many politically active Mongolians have reported heightened tensions that deter free expression.

In January 2023, the State Great Hural passed legislation that would regulate social media content, two days after the draft was offered by the digital development minister and without public consultation. The bill would have allowed authorities to restrict content—including via limits on communications services—that violate several criteria, including denigration of state symbols as well as discriminatory discourse. The president vetoed the bill later in January.

Arrests and prosecutions against those who participated in the 2022 antigovernment protests have been interpreted as a warning against those who would voice open opposition to official policy, and some observers believe the relative lack of protest activity is a consequence. However, evidence of explicit retaliation on the part of powerful actors is scant.

Freedom of assembly is upheld in practice, though Mongolian authorities have resorted to arresting participants in recent protests.

Demonstrators aired grievances over the government’s ability to fulfill campaign promises during large-scale demonstrations in April and December 2022. Protests in Ulaanbaatar that December were prompted by corruption involving a state-owned coal mining enterprise. Some participants and observers noted that the arrests seemed to target demonstrators disproportionately, though there is no significant evidence of systematic targeting. There was relatively little protest activity in 2023.

Numerous environmental, human rights, and social welfare groups operate without restrictions, though most are small. Individual activists sometimes report incidents of intimidation and harassment.

Trade unions are independent and active, and the government generally respects their rights to bargain collectively and engage in legal strike actions. However, labor rights are restricted for certain groups, such as foreign and temporary workers, and there are some reports of employers unlawfully disrupting union activity.

Judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial General Council, whose five members in turn are nominated by the three tiers of courts, the bar association, and the Justice Ministry. However, legislation passed in 2019 allows the National Security Council to recommend the dismissal of judges. While President Khürelsükh announced that he would voluntarily relinquish his authority to appoint judges in 2021, this has not yet been codified in legislation.

Corruption and political influence in the daily work of judges remain concerns.

Due process rights are generally respected, but cases of arbitrary arrest and detention have been reported. The right to a fair trial can be undermined by intimidation or bribery.

While Mongolians face few major threats to physical security, there have been reports of police illegally using physical abuse to obtain confessions. Some prison and detention facilities feature insufficient nutrition, heat, and medical care.

There are no formal barriers to equal treatment under the law. Discrimination based on gender, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other categories is prohibited. However, women and LGBT+ people continue to face societal discrimination and harassment, including in the workplace. Public events in support of LGBT+ equality have grown in attendance and visibility over the past several years.

Rape and other acts of sexual violence against LGBT+ people have historically gone unprosecuted. A 2017 criminal code revision includes stronger protections for this community; law enforcement officials have gradually received training to comply with the new code.

The government respects freedom of movement. Exit bans imposed on individuals involved in legal cases are overseen by the courts.

People are generally free to own property and establish private businesses, though SOEs play a prominent role in some sectors. Corruption also hampers many private business activities. Officials have reportedly withheld operating licenses and other documentation from businesses until bribes are paid. There is a history of corruption and government interference in the mining industry.

Individual rights on personal-status issues such as marriage and divorce are protected by law. However, domestic violence remains a problem. The government has initiated programs to encourage better police responses to domestic violence complaints in recent years. Sexual harassment is not explicitly restricted and is widespread.

An 2022 report from the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women noted progress in the prevention of violence against women, but the rapporteur urged a wider definition of such violence beyond domestic incidents and further harmonization of domestic laws with international standards.

The government has struggled to cope with economic inequality, particularly as large numbers of rural Mongolians migrate to cities that lack sufficient housing and infrastructure. Their situation became more precarious after the city of Ulaanbaatar restricted the registration of new residents in an effort to curb wintertime air pollution.

Women, children, people living in poverty, and other vulnerable segments of the population are at some risk of becoming trafficking victims, and can be compelled to engage in sex work, forced labor, or begging. Miners are subject to exploitative conditions, as are contract workers from China. The government has made efforts to better prosecute trafficking cases, but corruption impedes its effectiveness. In the 2023 edition of its Trafficking in Persons Report, the US State Department said that Mongolian authorities failed to identify male trafficking victims for 11 consecutive years, and it pursued fewer trafficking cases overall during its reporting year.