Author Archives: marissa smith

Parliamentary Elections 2024: Note on Third Parties, #1

Posted on April 19, 2024 by marissa smith

by Marissa J. Smith While we wait for the State Audit Office to review and approve party platforms (I will be looking for them to appear on the General Election Commission’s website around April 26), I have prepared some observations … Continue reading →

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Posted in Civil Society, Civil Will Green Party, Democratic Party, Elections, Ikh Khural 2024, KhUN, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Parliamentary Elections 2024: Yet Another New Election System

Posted on March 12, 2024 by marissa smith

By Marissa J. Smith, Julian Dierkes, and Enkhtsetseg Dagva As many observers have noted, Mongolian election systems have changed from election to election for the past 20 years. In this post, we detail the form of the June 2024 Parliamentary … Continue reading →

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Posted in Democratic Party, Elections, Enkhtsetseg Dagva, Ikh Khural 2024, KhUN, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Oyun-Erdene Cabinet, Version 01/2023

Posted on January 9, 2023 by marissa smith

By Marissa J. Smith A cabinet reshuffle has opened the new year of 2023, in the wake of a December marked by large demonstrations that climaxed with an attempted storming of the Government Building. A major focus of these demonstrations … Continue reading →

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Posted in Governance, Inequality, Inflation, Mining Governance, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics, Politics, Populism, Tavan Tolgoi, Youth | Leave a comment

Oyun-Erdene Cabinet, Post-Constitutional Change

Posted on August 31, 2022 by marissa smith

By Marissa J. Smith The “double-deel” rule, part of the Constitution, whereby only the Prime Minister and four cabinet ministers may also be MPs, has just been overturned. There are now ten new members of the Cabinet, eight of whom … Continue reading →

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Posted in Mongolian People's Party, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolia and Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine – Part 2

Posted on March 29, 2022 by marissa smith

By Marissa J. Smith It is now a month since the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. This post follows up from a previous one and relates events that have occurred in the last two weeks. While the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Civil Society, Foreign Policy, Human Rights, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., Protest, Protest, Russia, UN | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolia and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Posted on March 14, 2022 by marissa smith

By Marissa J. Smith It is now over two weeks since the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. This post is a summary of events concerning events relating Mongolia and the invasion so far. It includes coverage of: … Continue reading →

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Posted in Mongolia and ..., Politics, Protest, Public Opinion, Russia, UN | Tagged | Leave a comment

Considerations on Planning Travel from the US to Mongolia in February 2022

Posted on February 17, 2022 by marissa smith

By Marissa J. Smith This past week I have spoken with several people, and participated in several conversations on social media, where an announcement by Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene has been quoted as “borders are open.” I am sharing here a … Continue reading →

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Posted in Reflection, Research on Mongolia, Tourism | Tagged | Leave a comment

More on the DP’s Platform – Future Directions in Human Rights and Governance?

Posted on June 10, 2021 by marissa smith

By Marissa J. Smith Last week I wrote a post overviewing the final section of the Democratic Party candidate S. Erdene’s campaign platform. I have had a chance since to read the remainder of the program closely, and am struck … Continue reading →

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Posted in Democratic Party, Elections, Governance, Human Rights, Marissa Smith, Mongolian Diaspora, Politics, Presidential 2021 | Tagged | Leave a comment

“First 100 Days In Office” from DP Program on Instagram

Posted on June 1, 2021 by marissa smith

by Marissa J. Smith S. Erdene, the Democratic Party candidate in the 2021 Presidential elections (just over one week away), has just (on the evening of June 1, 2021) posted excerpts from the official program on Instagram. I translate the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Democratic Party, Elections, Human Rights, Politics, Presidential 2021, Public Policy | Tagged | Leave a comment

Who is KhUN presidential candidate D. Enkhbat?

Posted on May 14, 2021 by marissa smith

By Marissa J. Smith With one party member in Parliament, the KhUN party has the right to register a candidate for the presidential elections on June 9, 2021. They announced on May 12 that D. Enkhbat would be the candidate. … Continue reading →

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Posted in Democracy, Elections, Party Politics, Politics, Presidential 2021 | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Constitutional Court and Gridlock in Mongolian Democracy

Posted on April 13, 2021 by marissa smith

By Bat-Orgil Altankhuyag and Marissa J. Smith As covered by Mongolia Focus, the Mongolian government made significant changes to the Constitution in 2019. This was the second time that changes have been made since the Democratic Constitution was adopted in … Continue reading →

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Posted in Bat-Orgil Altankhuyag, Constitution, Democracy, Elections, Governance, Politics, Presidential 2021 | Tagged | Leave a comment

Outrage Over PM’s Suggestion to Draft Young Women into Military

Posted on March 6, 2021 by marissa smith

By Marissa J. Smith The #огцор hashtag is back (#cancelPM #огцор9 #ОгцорEC) after PM Oyun-Erdene made comments about drafting young women, who were characterized as getting married and having children at a young age rather than working, as he chaired … Continue reading →

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Posted in Gender, Mongolian People's Party, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolian Hunger Striking — DP to MPRP?

Posted on January 27, 2021 by marissa smith

By Marissa J. Smith After the massive #уокогцор strikes last week that preceded the resignation of Prime Minister U. Khurelsukh and his Cabinet, the weekend also saw demonstrations with fewer participants begin on Sukhbaatar Square, focusing on the OT agreement. … Continue reading →

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Posted in Democratic Party, History, Human Rights, Marissa Smith, Mining, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Oyu Tolgoi, Oyu Tolgoi, Politics, Social Media, Social Movements | Tagged | Leave a comment

Current and Previous Mongolian Presidents Weigh In on Mongolian Language Education

Posted on September 2, 2020 by marissa smith

By Marissa J. Smith Since Julian’s post on the unfolding events around China’s cancellation of Mongolian-medium education, the current Mongolian president, Kh. Battulga, and his predecessor, Ts. Elbegdorj, have released statements. As a brief update on the situation, Southern Mongolian … Continue reading →

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Posted in Author, China, Cultural Diplomacy, Digital Diplomacy, Education, Foreign Policy, Inner Mongolia, Literature, Marissa Smith, Mongolia and ..., Mongolians in China, Nationalism, Politics, Primary and Secondary Education, Social Media, Social Movements, Video | Leave a comment

More on Third Parties: ATOZN

Posted on June 4, 2020 by marissa smith

By Marissa J. Smith With the official start of campaigning season this week, and more information about the candidates approved by the GEC now available, the picture on third parties is clearer. In addition to Demos, which I discussed last … Continue reading →

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Posted in Civil Society, Corruption, Elections, Ikh Khural 2020, Marissa Smith, Nationalism, Protest, Security Apparatus | Tagged | Leave a comment