THE INTERNAL DEMOCRACY INDEX OF MONGOLIAN POLITICAL PARTIES 2019

The 2018 Internal Democracy Index of Mongolian Political Parties, was based on the quantitative research methodology of the Israel Democracy Institute and conducted by the Defacto Institute in collaboration with the Social and Political Education Center NGO of Mongolia. This year, our team utilized a qualitative method to complement the research methodology.

As of May 2019, we aimed to engage the 32 political parties registered at the Supreme Court of Mongolia. However, only 8 political parties, namely the Civil-Will Green Party (CWGP), Democratic Party (DP), Mongolian Green Party (MGP), Motherland Party (MLP), Mongolian People’s Party (MPP), Mongolian People’s Party (MPRP), National Labour Party (NLP), Truth & Right Party (TRP), agreed to partake in this research. This year, the total score of political parties has increased by comparison to the previous year. The participation of political party members has increased due to the nomination of candidates to upcoming 42nd district re-election. Moreover, 2019 is the Parliamentary pre-election year, it was a unique period in which political parties have begun holding their low- and high-level assemblies. This has significantly impacted the overall index score.

Table: The Internal Democracy Index of Mongolian Political Parties 2019

№ Political Party Index Category

1 Mongolian Green Party 66 Democratic

2 Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party 66 Democratic

3 Democratic Party 65 Democratic

4 National Labour Party 63 Democratic

5 Mongolian People’s Party 55 Semi-democratic

6 Motherland Party 47 Semi-democratic

7 Truth & Right Party 42 Semi-democratic

8 Civil-Will Green Party 32 Semi-democratic

A political party is a public institution whose activities must be visible to the public under the law. In Mongolia, sources of information for political party members vary. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are popular methods of information exchange. Traditional communications via mobile phones and e-mail are also favored. For the public, however, finding information on political party internal rules and activities is a challenge. The majority of political parties do not have official websites. The reason for this is the lack of institutional capacities and financial resources in most political parties.

Our research team made a request for the copies of the rules of political parties on May 29th, 2019. The SCM refused on the grounds of Article 12.5 of the General Law on State Registration, which requires a written approval from the legal entity whose information is being requested.

Please find the report here.