Mongolia 2024 parliamentary elections: ODIHR experts present final report and discuss electoral recommendations

Election experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented the final report and recommendations of the observation mission for the Mongolia 2024 parliamentary elections during a visit to Ulaanbaatar on 16-18 June 2025.

“We highly value the discussions we had and our counterparts’ commitment to implement ODIHR’s recommendations,” said Kseniya Dashutsina, senior election adviser at ODIHR. “They can rely on ODIHR's support and expertise throughout this process.”

Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the General Election Commission, the Standing Committee on State Structure in Parliament, the Administrative Court of Appeals, the National Audit Office, the Communications Regulatory Agency, and various civil society organisations working in the election and media took part in the meetings.

ODIHR reiterated that the elections were well-run, but that some longstanding issues remained. For example, the campaigning rules and conditions favoured established parties through online restrictions, blurred lines between state and party, and reports of pressure on public employees, raising concerns about whether voters had a genuinely free choice. The legal framework is adequate for holding democratic elections, but still requires closer alignment with international standards. Election day was smooth and transparent, though procedures for manual verification of results require greater clarity and consistency.

Discussions focused on revising the legislation to bring the electoral process further in line with international standards, improve the conduct of manual re-counts, ensure third-party verification of the vote counting system, prevent misuse of public resources, strengthen sanctions for campaign finance violations and false information, and improve the effectiveness of the dispute resolution process.

ODIHR also assessed the country’s efforts to implement previous recommendations from observation missions carried out between 2016 and 2021. Out of 67 recommendations evaluated, eight were fully implemented, five mostly implemented, 17 partially implemented and 37 not implemented. Further details can be found in the ODIHR Electoral Recommendations Database. All OSCE participating States have committed to following up promptly on ODIHR's election assessments and recommendations.