Democratic Party (Mongolia)

Democratic Party of Mongolia Ардчилсан нам Ardchilsan Nam
Leader	Norovyn Altankhuyag
General secretary	Dondogdorjyn Erdenebat
Parliamentary group leader	Chimedyn Saikhanbileg
Founded	1990 (historical formation) 2000 (current formation)
Headquarters	Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Youth wing	Democratic Youth Union
Ideology	Liberalism, Economic liberalism Conservative liberalism Libertarianism
Political position	Centre-right
International affiliation	International Democrat Union
Official colors	Blue
Parliament	27 / 76
Website
http://www.demparty.mn

The Democratic Party (DP; Mongolian Ардчилсан нам, Ardchilsan Nam) is a conservative liberal and libertarian political party in Mongolia. Its primary goals are the continued transformation of Mongolia into an open and democratic society.

History

Thanks to the Democratic Revolution in 1990,^[1] Mongolia became a country with a multi-party system. The democratic revolution transformed Mongolia from a communist regime into a dynamic democracy. Those who pioneered the democratic revolution founded Democratic Party, Mongolian National Progressive Party and Mongolian Social Democratic Party. On December 6, 2000, 5 political parties- including Mongolian National Democratic Party, Mongolian Social Democratic Party and others- merged and established Democratic Party of Mongolia.

Previous election results

At the legislative elections, 27 June and 17 July 2004, the party was a constituent part of the Motherland Democratic Coalition that won 44.7% of the popular vote and 35 out of 76 seats. Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj became the prime minister, and held that position until January 2006.

In the presidential elections of 20 May 2005, its candidate Mendsaikhany Enkhsaikhan won only 19.7%.

2008 parliament election

After the 2008 legislative election, Democratic Party took 28 seats out of 76 in Parliament. After the election, 2 major parties (Democratic Party of Mongolia and Mongolian People's Party) formed coalition government.

Within the Government, Party Leader is First Deputy Prime Minister and the Party keeps Minister of Finance, Minister of Health, Minister of Environment and Tourism, Minister of Roads, Transportation, Construction and Urban Development and Minister of Defense.

Personnel

Democratic Party headquarters next to the Sukhbaatar Square after the 2009 presidential election

On April 1, 2006, a party convention elected Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj as Party Leader. Four candidates ran for the elections and in the first round, Elbegdorj won 46%, Erdeniin Bat-Uul won 40% and two other candidates won the rest. Without an absolute majority, a second ballot between the leading candidates resulted in Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj winning with 57.2%.^[2]

In the wake of the disputes over alleged rigging of Mongolia's 2008 parliamentary elections and the ensuing violence on July 1st, 2008, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj stepped down as party leader on August 28th, 2008.

On August 30th, 2008, National Consultative Committee of Democratic Party elected Norovyn Altankhuyag as new leader of the Party.^[3]

List of Leaders

• Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj 2006-2008
• Norovyn Altankhuyag 2008-present

2009 presidential election

Presidential election was held in Mongolia on May 24th, 2009. As result of the election, Democratic Party candidate Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj won with 51.24% of the vote.

Organization

The party is organized on national, provincial and municipal level. Currently, the party has around 30 provincial party associations and 432 grassroots organizations.

• National Convention (NC): Each provincial association sends delegates to the National Convention, which is held every 4 years.
• National Consultative Committee (NCC): No more than 2 times a year, NCC is organized and there are 228 members of NCC.

Affiliated organizations Democratic Party has the following affiliated groups and organizations.

• Democratic Youth Union: organizes young members
• Democratic Women's Union: organizes female members
• Democratic Elders's Union: organizes elder members

References

1. ^ Chris Kaplonski: Mongolia: Political Parties (Retrieved January 29, 2007)
2. ^ Luke Distelhorst: Ts. Elbegdorj Mongolia's New Democratic Party Leader, Mongolia-Web, April 1, 2006
3. ^ www.mongolei.de: Aktuelle Nachrichten aus der Mongolei / 25. bis 31. August 2008 (in German)

External links

• Official site (in Mongolian)
• Official site (in English)