Presidential elections were held in

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...

on 9 June 2021. The result was a victory for former prime minister Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh of the

Mongolian People's Party The Mongolian People's Party (MPP) is a social democratic political party in Mongolia. It was founded as a communist party in 1920 by Mongolian revolutionaries and is the oldest political party in Mongolia. The party played an important role ...

, who received 72% of the valid vote. The election was considered free and fair by

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

. However, there was controversy as several opposition candidates were disqualified and former president Khaltmaagiin Battulga was barred from running for a second term.

Background

In April 2021, president

Khaltmaagiin Battulga Khaltmaagiin Battulga (; mn, Халтмаагийн Баттулга, Haltmaagiin Battulga, , also referred to as Battulga Khaltmaa; born 3 March 1963) is a Mongolian politician and sambo wrestler who served as the 5th President of Mongolia fr ...

issued an emergency directive to disband the MPP "in order to safeguard the sovereignty and democracy of the country" after the MPP passed amendments to the constitution. The constitutional amendments, which took effect in May 2020, limited one's presidency to one term, making Battulga ineligible to re-run in the 2021 presidential election.

Electoral system

Following 2019 constitutional amendments, the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

is elected using the

two-round system The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resu ...

for a six-year term, and may only serve one term. Previously, the term was of four years, renewable once Political parties with representation in the State Great Khural are allowed to nominate candidates. The elected president must resign from any political party before their inauguration. Presidents can be removed through a two-third majority votes by the State Great Khural if found guilty for abusing their powers or violating the presidential oath. Articles 97.9 and 99.2 of the electoral law determines how votes are counted, with blank ballots taken into account when determining whether a candidate has crossed the 50% threshold. If no candidate receives a majority of all votes cast in the second round (including blank votes), article 8.6.2 of the electoral law requires fresh elections to be held.

Candidates

The General Elections Commission registered three candidates: # Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh (

) # Sodnomzunduin Erdene ( Democratic Party) # Dangaasürengiin Enkhbat ( National Labour Party)

Oyungerel Tsedevdamba Oyungerel Tsedevdamba (; born 26 October 1966 in the Tarialan district of the Mongolian People's Republic) is policy advisor for human rights and public participation to the President of Mongolia, Khaltmaagiin Battulga. Oyungerel is a member of t ...

of the Democratic Party had been considered a potential candidate but she lost her bid in the primary to Erdene.

Opinion polls

Former Prime Minister Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh led the opinion polls according to an MEC survey in April 2021.

Results

Polls opened at 7 AM in 2,087 polling stations across the country for the 2.1 million registered voters, with security measures due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Mongolia The COVID-19 pandemic in Mongolia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Mongolia when its ...

. Voting ended at 10 PM. Khürelsükh and Erdene voted in

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...

while Enkhbat was diagnosed positive for COVID-19 and voted in the hospital where he was hospitalized.

References

Presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

Presidential elections in Mongolia {{Mongolia-hist-stub