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This Legal Opinion has been prepared in response to the request by the General Election Commission of Mongolia (GEC) for a legal review of the Law on the Presidential Election (Law), as well as an assessment of the coherence between regulations on campaign and political party financing and reporting in electoral legislation and in the Law on Political Parties. In line with ODIHR methodology, the Opinion analyses compliance with international human rights standards and OSCE human dimension commitments.
Generally, the Law is detailed and outlines fundamental principles of suffrage, electoral integrity, and procedural safeguards. However, certain provisions remain overly general or leave important aspects unregulated, which may result in inconsistent interpretation or implementation.
Specifically, while the Law provides a solid framework for voting and candidacy rights, several provisions require revision to align with international obligations and good practice. Blanket restrictions on voting rights for persons with disabilities and prisoners should be replaced with narrowly tailored, proportionate measures, or removed. Candidacy rights also include some restrictive and potentially discriminatory criteria, such as requirements based on “native” nationality, long residency, or intellectual disability, as well as limiting candidate nominations to parliamentary parties only. Additionally, the fragmentation of key definitions across multiple articles reduces coherence and should be addressed through consolidation.
The Law establishes a clear hierarchical framework for election administration, but review is needed to strengthen independence and transparency, as the designation of local governors and police as chairs or members of election committees raises concerns about neutrality and the perception of political influence. To enhance transparency, preliminary and final election results should be published in a disaggregated form, including at local levels. Further areas needing attention include the system of listing candidates on ballots according to party registration, proxy voting procedures and insufficient provisions for effective legal redress.