Asian Electoral Resource Center

Voters Living Abroad

 An eligible voting citizen residing in a foreign country in which a diplomatic mission of Mongolia is located and registered with the state register should  abide by the following procedures to participate in an election.

-An eligible voting citizen residing in a foreign country should notify of his/her participation in the election and register and participate in person;

-An eligible voting citizen residing in a foreign country should only vote for a party or coalition that is participating in the election; and

-Polling of an eligible voting citizen residing in a foreign country should be held and his/her sealed vote delivered to the General Election Commission within at least 15 days prior to the polling day.

Procedures related to the participation and polling of an eligible voting citizen residing in a foreign country in which a diplomatic mission of Mongolia is located in an election shall be jointly approved and administered by the General Election Commission and Cabinet Member in charge of foreign relations.

In the 2012 parliamentary elections, Mongolians living abroad were allowed to vote. However, out of 35,000 Mongolians living abroad, fewer than 3,000 cast their vote. In hindsight, this might have been due to the system which voters had to appear at Mongolian diplomatic posts rather than using postal voting.

In 2016 Elections, a total of 1,912,901 voters are registered. Some 150,000 Mongolians living abroad, as well as military, police and election officers, deployed outside their precinct of residence, were not able to cast their votes as the Constitutional Court had issued a protocol, stating that some electoral provisions are violating the Constitution. As a result, it was impossible for Mongolians living abroad to vote in the election.

Source

Law on the Election of the State Great Hural of Mongolia, Procedure for Observation and Reporting on the Election of the State Great Hural of Mongolia, 2012,
http://www.gec.gov.mn/uploads/page/41ebe18c30810d33b063cad8fac38c1c.pdf.

OSCE-ODIHR, Interim Report 20 May-14 June 2016, Election Observation Mission Mongolia Parliamentary Elections 29 June 2016, Jun 17, 2016
http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/mongolia/247446?download=true.

L. Purevsuren: bad news for Mongolians abroad, www.News.mn, May 11, 2016, http://www.news.mn/r/302540.