Presidential candidates unveiled
In accordance with the law, parties and coalitions with seats in Parliament must announce their candidates for the upcoming presidential election by May 2.
In this election, the Mongolian People’s Party (MPP), Democratic Party (DP), Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP) and Right Person Voter Coalition (RPVC) can nominate candidates. However, on April 29, MPP and MPRP established an agreement to merge, and MPRP expressed support for the MPP candidate in the presidential race. In connection with the unification, lawmaker S.Ganbaatar, who was elected from MPRP, announced his resignation from the party and joined DP. Therefore, three parties will compete in the coming election.
On May 2, the Conference of MPP was held and Chairman of the party U.Khurelsukh was nominated for the presidential election.
U.Khurelsukh graduated from the National Defense University with a bachelor’s degree in politics in 1989, and from the National University of Mongolia in law in 2000. He was elected to Parliament in 2000, 2004, 2012, and 2020. He served as minister in charge of emergency situations from 2004 to 2006, as minister in charge of specialized inspection issues from 2006 to 2008, and as general secretary of the party from 2008 to 2012. He served as deputy prime minister from 2014 to 2016, and as prime minister from 2017 to 2020. However, his Cabinet was resigned in response to public protests and outcry against inhumanity and injustices last January.
DP with two leaders held separate elections for their presidential candidate on May 1. S.Erdene was nominated from the party led by M.Tulgat, while the DP led by O.Tsogtgerel nominated lawmaker N.Altankhuyag as their candidate for the election. The General Election Commission shall decide which of the two candidates will be officially registered as a candidate for the presidency.
Lawmakers N.Altankhuyag, S.Ganbaatar and D.Ganbat competed in DP’s internal election held by O.Tsogtgerel’s side. Former Minister of Justice Kh.Temuujin withdrew his candidacy on the grounds that it was an illegal election. Moreover, former lawmakers Ts.Oyungerel, R.Amarjargal, L.Gundalai and S.Erdene participated in the election held by the DP led by M.Tulgat.
RPVC planned to start its meeting to nominate a candidate at 6:00 p.m. on May 2. The coalition previously launched the Order President campaign and 17,861 citizens voted for 141 people for the presidency. The coalition asked the first five of the 141 people to run for president. In particular, economist D.Jargalsaikhan, politician B.Batbayar (Baabar), founder of Datacom D.Enkhbat, doctor of Songdo Hospital B.Boldsaikhan, and former lawmaker Ts.Oyungerel were asked to run for the presidency.
As of 4:00 p.m. on May 2, D.Enkhbat, B.Boldsaikhan and B.Batbayar accepted the proposal.
The names of the presidential candidates must be submitted to the General Election Commission by May 5. The commission will decide whether to register candidates from May 6 to 8.
In accordance with the Law on the Presidential Election, a presidential candidate must not have debt, collateral or guarantee debt issued by a court decision, have no overdue tax liabilities, and have no mental illness. If a candidate owns 51 percent or more shares of a company, the company must have no overdue tax debts. Moreover, a person who committed a criminal offense and is serving a sentence under a valid court decree or was found guilty of corruption or official misconduct shall be prohibited from running for presidency.