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The modern democratic era ofMongolia started after theDemocratic Revolution of 1990, which occurred in the wake of the1989 revolutions and the collapse of theSoviet Union. After the 1990 revolution, Mongolia underwent a transition from asocialistone-party state to amulti-party parliamentary democracy.[1]
The firstfree and fair elections were held inJuly 1990.[2] The bicameral parliament drafted a new constitution in 1991, which was ratified by Mongolia's first president,Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat on 13 January 1992, and put into force on 12 February 1992.[3]
With the changes happening internationally in theEastern Bloc, especially in the Soviet Union, which had sheltered and led Mongolia, young people in Mongolia wanted to bring about change in society and how the government operated. In addition, Mongolia suffered economic hardships as early as the1980s. Youth intellectuals began to meet secretly and discuss it. For example, during his studies in the USSR,Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj learned aboutGlasnost, the concepts such as freedom of speech and economic liberties. After returning to Mongolia, he met other like-minded people and tried to present those ideas to a wider audience,[4] despite attempts of repression from thePolitburo-authority of the government,[5] and threats by his employer to lose his job.[citation needed]
In October 1989, New Generation, an underground resistance movement was formed.[6]
On 28 November 1989, at the end of a speech at the Young Artists' Second National Congress, Elbegdorj said that Mongolia needed democracy and appealed for youth to collaborate to create democracy in Mongolia. He told the audience "We consider thatPerestroika is a timely and brave step. Youth's contribution to this revolutionary matter is not by supportive talks but by certain work. Our contribution is our objectives to be fulfilled. Our objectives are: ... following democracy and transparency and contributing to glasnost, ... and supporting fair progressive power ... These are the objectives of an initiatives' group-an organization that shall work. After the congress I hope we will gather and discuss with you about it in this (newly forming group). The organization shall be based on public, voluntary and democratic principles."[7]
The chairman of the congress stopped Elbegdorj's speech and warned him not to say such things. It was 1989 and Mongolia had been a communist country for 68 years.[8] At that time, it was alleged that every other person was an unofficial communist party spy who would report people who expressed opinions other than socialism and communism.[9] During the break of the congress, two young individuals met Elbegdorj and the three agreed to found a democratic movement and to secretly spread the news to other young people.[10] Later the three met and united with ten other individuals and they are known as the Thirteen Leaders of Mongolia's Democratic Revolution.[11][12] On his return from the congress, his boss at the newspaperUlaan Od warned Elbegdorj that he would be fired if he participated further in any activities out of work or engaged in any conduct inconsistent with communist and socialist ideology.[7] Despite the warning, Elbegdorj and his friends met secretly with other young people in the circle auditorium of theNational University of Mongolia and discussed democracy, free market economic policy, and other prohibited subjects of the time, and began to draft a plan to organize a democratic movement.[13] They met many times and brought new friends and new supporters to join them secretly. One night they placed ads of their open demonstration in streets.[7]
On 9 December, people from New Generation met students, journalists and others to set up an open organization calling for drastic reform. The group called itself Mongolian Democratic Union.[6]
On the morning of 10 December 1989, the first open pro-democracy demonstration met in front of the Youth Cultural Center in Ulaanbaatar.[14] There, Elbegdorj announced the creation of the Mongolian Democratic Union (MDU).[15] At the demonstration, the MDU founders publicly petitioned the government for a real implementation of Perestroika, allowing a multi-party system, and the total implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in all party and government affairs.[6]
In subsequent months the activists led by 13 democracy leaders includingTsakhiagiin Elbegdorj,Sanjaasürengiin Zorig,Erdeniin Bat-Üül,Bat-Erdeniin Batbayar and others continued to organize demonstrations, rallies, protests and hunger strikes, as well as teachers' and workers' strikes.[16] The activists had growing support from Mongolians, both in the capital and the countryside and the union's activities led to other calls for democracy all over the country.[17][18][19]
On 2 January 1990, Mongolian Democratic Union began distributing leaflets calling for a democratic revolution.[6] When the government did not comply with this and later, more aggressive demands, demonstrations occurred. On January 14, 1990, some 1000 protesters met on square in front of Lenin Museum which has been renamed as Freedom Square since then inUlaanbaatar. A demonstration onSükhbaatar Square on 21 January (in weather of -30 C) followed. Protestors carried banners alluding to Chinggis Khaan (also referred toGenghis Khan), rehabilitating a figure which Soviet schooling neglected to praise.[20] They celebrated Daramyn Tömör-Ochir, a politician who was purged from the MPRP in 1962 as part of the MPRP's efforts to suppress the commemoration of the 800th anniversary of Genghis Khan's birth. And the rebels carried a modifiedFlag of Mongolia which lacked a star symbolizing socialism; this flag would become the new flag after the revolution.[21]
After numerous demonstrations of many thousands of people in the capital city as well as provincial centers, on 4 March 1990, the MDU and three other reform organizations held a joint outdoor mass meeting, inviting the government to attend. The government sent no representative to what became a demonstration of over 100,000 people demanding democratic change.[6] Ten members of the organizations began a hunger strike on 7 March, the next day,[6] theMongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP)'s Politburo – the authority of the government eventually gave way to the pressure and entered negotiations with the leaders of the democratic movement Mongolian Democratic Union.[22]Jambyn Batmönkh, chairman of Politburo of MPRP's Central Committee decided to dissolve the Politburo and to resign on 9 March 1990.[23][24] This paved the way for the first multi-party elections in Mongolia.[16]
Behind the scenes, however, the MPRP had seriously considered cracking down on the protesters, writing a decree that was left to be signed by the party leaderJambyn Batmönkh. Batmönkh opposed it, maintaining a strict policy of never using force (Mongolian:Хүч хэрэглэж хэрхэвч болохгүй). People those were present there later recalled that Batmönkh said "I will never sign this. We few Mongols have not yet come to the point that we will make each other's noses bleed," smacked the table, and left the room."[25]
Elbegdorj announced the news of the Politburo resignation to the hunger strikers and to people who'd gathered onSükhbaatar Square at 10 PM on that day after the negotiations between leaders of MPRP and Mongolian Democratic Union.[7] Then the hunger strike stopped.
In April, the conflict worsened, with the government restricting the freedom of assembly and the democracy leaders submitting an ultimatum demanding equal participation of all political groups. The MPRP refused to accede to the demands.[6] However, in May, under pressure and after negotiations with members of the opposition movement, the People's Great Hural approved the Law on Political Parties.[26]
Following thecollapse of thecommunist regime, Mongolia's first free,multi-party elections for abicameral parliament were held on July 29, 1990.[6][27] Parties ran for 430 seats in thePeople's Great Khural (upper house) and 50 seats in theState Little Khural (lower house). with opposition parties not able to nominate enough candidates. TheMongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) won 357 seats, and 83% majority. It also received a majority in theState Little Khural (which was later abolished), winning 31 out of 53. The People's Great Khural (upper house) first met on 3 September and elected a president (MPRP), vice president (Social Democrat), prime minister (MPRP), and 50 members to the Little Khural (lower house). The vice president was also chairman of the Little Khural. In November 1991, the People's Great Khural began discussion on a new constitution, which entered into force on 12 February 1992. In addition to establishing Mongolia as an independent, sovereign republic and guaranteeing a number of rights and freedoms, the new constitution restructured the legislative branch of government, creating a unicameral legislature, theState Great Khural.
Nonetheless, the new MPRP government underDashiin Byambasüren shared power with the opposition parties, and implemented constitutional and economic reforms, with anew constitution being adopted in 1992. In the early and mid-1990s, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, which had until 1990 provided significant economic aid to Mongolia's state budget, the country experienced harsh economic problems as early as the 1980s. Foreign trade broke down, economic and technical aid from the former socialist countries ended, and the domestic economy was struggling with privatization. Inflation rose, stores' shelves were depleted, ration cards for food were issued for a period of time. A thriving black market arose in Ulaanbaatar by 1988 to accommodate the needs of the populace.[6]
In the same year the constitution was ratified, the1992 elections for the newly establishedunicameralState Great Khural were held on June 30. The MPRP won another round of parliamentary elections, winning 70 out of 76 seats in the State Great Khural.[1] The new constitution also provided that thePresident of Mongolia would be elected by popular vote rather than by the legislature as before. IncumbentPunsalmaagiin Ochirbat became Mongolia's first universally elected president, winning the1993 presidential election with two-thirds of the vote. Originally an MPRP member, Ochirbat ran as the candidate of the opposition, after the MPRP had nominated an orthodox communist as their candidate.[28] The MPRP was electorally defeated for the first time in its history.
In1996 parliamentary elections, theDemocratic Union (DU) won 50 out of 76 seats in the State Great Khural, co-led byTsakhiagiin Elbegdorj as the chairman of theMongolian National Democratic Party.[29] The MPRP lost itsparliamentary majority for the first time and was out of power for the first time since the1921 Revolution.[30] Despite their electoral success, the DU leaders fought amongst themselves for the office ofPrime Minister and thePresident of Mongolia. Subsequently, MPRP candidateNatsagiin Bagabandi was overwhelmingly elected as president in the1997 election, whilst incumbent Ochirbat, running from the DU, lost re-election. Democratic PMMendsaikhany Enkhsaikhan, serving since 1996, was replaced by chairman Elbegdorj in early 1998.[31] In addition to the political discord,harsh winters, the1997 Asian financial crisis , and the1998 Russian financial crisis adversely affected Mongolia's largely agricultural economy.[32] Elbegdorj soon lost amotion of no confidence in late 1998, but his successor's nomination was blocked by the MPRP minority and the singleMTUP member of parliament.
In October 1998, during an ongoingcabinet crisis, a key leader of the 1990 revolution and MPSanjaasürengiin Zorig was assassinated inside his home. Many people speculate that the murder was politically motivated, as Zorig was a likely pick to become the next Prime Minister.[29] The case of Zorig remains unsolved to this day. His death would lead to the breakaway of Zorig's allies and the establishment of theCivil Will Party by his sister,Sanjaasürengiin Oyun in 2000. The DU's disagreement and infighting led to a total of four Democratic PMs holding office for four unstable years.[31]
In the next2000 parliamentary election, the DU would witness a majorelectoral wipeout, securing only a single seat. The MPRP however, would win a supermajority of 72 seats, .[33] Following their defeat, five member parties of the DU would merge into the modern-dayDemocratic Party (DP) in December 2000.[34] President Bagabandi was re-elected in the2001 presidential election.
The2004 parliamentary election resulted in ahung parliament between the MPRP and theMotherland Democratic Coalition (MDC), a coalition between the DP, the Civil Will Party, and theMotherland Party. There were concerns ofelectoral fraud in the 2004 election but was largely ignored.[35] The MPRP was forced to join a coalition government led by MDC chairmanTsakhiagiin Elbegdorj,[36] but like the previous Democratic government, it would oversee frequent political scandals, crises, and infighting. The MDC was dissolved in December 2004, due to party disagreements for the upcoming2005 presidential election. Furthermore, economic slowdown and party disputes during Elbegdorj's tenure would cause the formation of splinter parties such as theMongolian National Democratic Party (MNDP), the People's Party and theMongolian Social Democratic Party.[37][31] Former MPRP chairman and prime ministerNambaryn Enkhbayar would come on top in the2005 presidential election.[38] The DP lost 5 of its seats to the MPRP in late 2005, leading to the now majority MPRP leaving the coalition in January 2006, thereby forming their own coalition government.[39] Another government reshuffle took place at the end of 2007, when the MPRP decided to replace its prime ministerMiyeegombyn Enkhbold withSanjiin Bayar.[40]
The MPRP formed a coalition government with the Democratic Party in 2008 also, although the MPRP won the majority being blamed for vote rigging and followed riots.
In the2009 presidential election, Democratic candidateTsakhiagiin Elbegdorj defeated incumbent PresidentNambaryn Enkhbayar.[41][42] In November 2010, the MPRP would restore its original 1921 name, theMongolian People's Party (MPP), and ideologically swing fromdemocratic socialism tosocial democracy.[43] This change would provoke Enkhbayar's faction within the party to split and form the splinterMongolian People's Revolutionary Party.[44][45]
Despite being heavily hit by the2008 financial crisis and the 2008-2009winters, Mongolia's economy saw immense growth starting from 2010, thanks to a boom in the country'sgrowing mining sector.[46] The country saw a rapid double-digit GDP growth, and was considered one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.[47] Due to its immense mineral resources, Mongolia was nicknamed "Mine-golia" and the nextAsian tiger.[48] IMF forecast of Mongolia's economic growth in 2011 was at 17.5%.[49]
In January 2012, the DP made a decision to leave the coalition government before the upcoming June elections. In the2012 parliamentary elections, the DP won 31 out of 76 seats, becoming the largest party in parliament, whilst the MPP came second and the newJustice Coalition between the MPRP and MNDP third. It was the first incident of aparallel voting method being used.[50] A coalition government was formed by the DP with the Justice Coalition and theCivil Will–Green Party.[51] In the 2012 local elections, the MPP was defeated for the first time in the country's history.[52]
In the2013 presidential election, incumbent President Elbegdorj was re-elected.[53] The DP held the office of the presidency, the prime minister and the majority of parliament from 2012 to 2016. Starting from 2014 however, Mongolia's economic growth started to stagnate as foreign debt and inflation rose and copper and coal prices plummeted.[54][55] By 2016, Economic forecast of Mongolia's growth by the IMF was just at 0.4%. The economic free fall and poor Democratic governance ultimately led to a landslide MPP victory in the2016 parliamentary election.[49]
The2017 presidential election was the first time no candidates met the required 50% majority vote. The first-ever presidential runoff was held in July between the MPP nomineeMiyeegombyn Enkhbold and DP nomineeKhaltmaagiin Battulga. Despite the high number ofprotest votes, Battulga's populist and nationalist campaign, similar to that ofDonald Trump's 2016 campaign, led to him winning 50.6% of the popular vote, beating Enkhbold by 9.4%.[56][57]
The MPP won a yet another landslide victory in the2020 parliamentary election. However, before the 2020 election, the ruling party had redrawn the electoral map in a way beneficial to MPP.[58] In January 2021, MPP chairman and Prime MinisterUkhnaagiin Khürelsükh, whom had been in office since 2016, resigned after2021 protests over the treatment of a coronavirus patient.[59] His shock resignation led many analysts to believe that he was bidding for the presidency.[60]Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene from the MPP became the new prime minister on 27 January 2021. He represented a younger generation of politicians that had studied abroad.[61] The MPRP strategically merged into the MPP during the100th year anniversary of the Mongolian People's Party in April 2021,[62] officially ending its decade-long existence and allowing a newthird-party to enter the political scene. ThecentristNational Labour Party (NLP) with one seat in the State Great Khural filled the MPRP's place.
In the2021 presidential election, former PM Khürelsükh, candidate of the ruling MPP, became the country's sixth democratically elected president with alandslide election victory. Surprisingly, the DP nominee and chairman Sodnomzunduin Erdene came last out of the three candidates, with 6% of the vote. The NLP candidateDangaasürengiin Enkhbat received 21% of the vote, majority of it being fromMongolian expats and youth.[63]
Mongolia-watchers in Beijing said that... the democracy movement is rooted more in nationalism than in dissent.... 'Watching it unfold, you get the feeling this is more a pro-nationalist and pro-Mongolian movement than it is anti-party or anti-government,' said a diplomat who left Ulan Bator on Monday.
