OSCE/ODIHR experts discuss electoral recommendations in Mongolia

Elections experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) met with electoral stakeholders in Ulaanbaatar on 13 and 14 December 2016 to present recommendations from the final report on the 29 June parliamentary elections in Mongolia.

The report’s findings and recommendations were presented to officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the General Election Commission, the Supreme Court and other government officials, as well as to representatives of parliamentary committees, political parties and civil society.

Priority recommendations in the report focused on the legal framework, election administration, campaign finance, the complaints and appeals process, the separation of the roles of the state and political parties during electoral campaigns, and the role of the media supervisory body.

“We appreciate the commitment at the highest level in Mongolia to address the recommendations and regard it as a signal of the importance attached to making further improvements to the electoral process,” said Ambassador Audrey Glover, who led the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission deployed to observe the parliamentary elections. “The Mongolian authorities can always rely on the support and the expertise of the OSCE/ODIHR as they move forward in following up on electoral recommendations.”

During the visit, ODIHR emphasized the importance of addressing recommendations made in the final report in an inclusive and open manner. The experts also noted the importance of focusing on recommendations of a more technical and procedural character ahead of the upcoming presidential election in June 2017, and leaving wider and more comprehensive recommendations until the next phase of the electoral cycle.

The visit follows an official invitation by Mongolia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to present the 2016 final report. All OSCE participating States have committed themselves to follow up on ODIHR's election assessments and recommendations.