2004 Mongolian parliamentary election

2004 Mongolian parliamentary election

←  2000 27 June 2004 2008  →
All 76 seats in the State Great Khural 39 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	82.20% (0.20pp)
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– MPRP Nambaryn Enkhbayar 48.83 36 −36 MDC Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj 44.85 34 +33 Republican Bazarsadyn Jargalsaikhan 1.39 1 +1 Independents – 3.50 3 +2 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Results by constituency Prime Minister before Prime Minister after Nambaryn Enkhbayar MPRP Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj Democratic Party

Parliamentary elections were held in Mongolia on 27 June 2004. ^[1] Despite losing half of its seats to the opposition that was wiped out in the 2000 election, the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) won 36 out of 76 seats and remained as the largest party in the State Great Khural.

The Motherland Democratic Coalition (MDC) led by the newly founded Democratic Party (DP) won 34 out of 76 seats in the State Great Khural but failed to meet the threshold for a majority rule. 2 seats were disputed between the two parties, leaving them vacant until by-elections were held. A hung parliament was ultimately convened on 26 July 2004 and soon later a coalition government, headed by MDC chairman Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, was formed. ^{[2] [3]}

In the February 2005 by-elections, both the MPRP and the MDC each won a single seat in the 59th and 24th constituency. ^[4]

Background

In the previous 2000 parliamentary election, the MPRP won 72 out of 76 seats in the State Great Khural. The opposition Democratic Union, comprising of four parties whom held a parliamentary majority with 50 seats from 1996 to 2000, lost in a major setback and won a single seat. Independent politician Lamjavyn Gündalai, the Motherland–Mongolian Democratic New Socialist Party (M–MNDSP), and the Civil Will Party had also won single seats in the State Great Khural. ^[5]

The opposition were fractured into twelve political parties and three coalitions that altogether nominated 560 candidates. No other parties than the MPRP had obtained more than one seat in parliament. ^{[5] [6]}

The electoral wipeout of the Democratic Union is attributed to their chaotic four years in government, political infighting and the assassination of democratic revolutionary Sanjaasürengiin Zorig. ^[6] The latter which led to the formation of a splinter Civil Will Party led by his sister, Sanjaasürengiin Oyun. ^[7]

On 6 December 2000, the five former member parties of the Democratic Union merged and established the Democratic Party of Mongolia (DP). ^[8] Independent MP Gundalai joined the DP in late 2000, increasing the amount of Democratic seats from 1 to 2. The DP founded the Motherland Democratic Coalition with the M–MNDSP in May 2003. The Civil Will–Republican Party, a merger of the Civil Will Party and the Republican Party, would join the coalition later in July 2003. ^[9]

Electoral system

Members of the State Great Khural were elected from single-seat constituencies by a plurality voting method. The previous parliamentary elections of 1996 and 2000 were both held under the same system. ^[10]

Of the 76 seats, 20 were elected from the capital city, Ulaanbaatar, and the other 56 were elected from the 21 aimags of Mongolia. ^[10]

Timetable

The following timetable was approved by the General Election Commission (GEC) on April 8, four days before the date of the election was announced: ^[11]

12 April	Announcement of the election date
22 April	Deadline for parties to submit intention to participate
27 April–17 May	Parties nominate candidates
27 May	The GEC issues candidate cards
27 May–25 June	Election campaign period
20 June	Deadline for the conduct of public opinion polling
28 June	Polling day (from 7am until 10pm)

Contesting parties

Pre-election composition

Party		Seats
	Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party	72
	Democratic Party	2
	Motherland–Mongolian Democratic New Socialist Party	1
	Civil Will–Republican Party	1
Total		76
Source: State Great Khural

244 candidates were officially registered by the General Election Commission (GEC) for the election, of whom 15 were independents and 229 were running from 6 political parties and 1 coalition. ^{[10] [12]}

Party		Candidates
	Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party	76
	Motherland Democratic Coalition (Democratic Party, Motherland – Mongolian Democratic New Socialist Party, Civil Will–Republican Party)	76
	Mongolian Party of National Unity	23
	Republican Party	35
	Mongolian Traditional United Party	9
	Mongolian Green Party	5
	Mongolian Liberal Party	5
	Independent	15
Total		244

Opinion polls

Polling firm	Fieldwork date	Sample size	MPRP	M-DC	CW–RP	Other	Ind.	None	Und./NA/ DK
Sant Maral	18–25 May 2003	1,662	39	29	8	2	14	–	8
IRI	3 Jun 2003	1,000	35	31	6	1	–	1	25
	16 Jul 2021	CW–RP joins the M-DC
IRI	3 Aug 2003	1,000	35	37		1	–	1	26
Sant Maral	24 Oct – 1 Nov 2003	1,703	35	39		2	14	–	9
IRI	3 Nov 2003	1,000	45	38		1	–	1	17
Sant Maral	4–12 Mar 2004	1,663	49	29		2	13	–	7
Sant Maral	30 May – 7 Jun 2004	2,170	47	36		4	5	–	8
2004 election	27 Jun 2004	–	48.8	44.9		2.8	3.5	–	–

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party	505,668	48.83	36	–36
	Motherland Democratic Coalition	464,479	44.85	34	+32
	Republican Party	14,367	1.39	1	+1
	Mongolian Traditional United Party	6,097	0.59	0	–
	Mongolian Party of National Unity	5,001	0.48	0	–
	Mongolian Green Party	2,153	0.21	0	–
	Mongolian Liberal Party	1,597	0.15	0	–
	Independents	36,237	3.50	3	+2
Vacant				2	–
Total		1,035,599	100.00	76	0
Valid votes		1,035,599	98.59
Invalid/blank votes		14,803	1.41
Total votes		1,050,402	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,279,516	82.09
Source: GEC

References

1. Election Profile IFES
2. "Mongolia's Rival Parties Reach Power-Sharing Agreement - 2004-08-13". ཝི་ཨོ་ཨེ།. 2004-08-13. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
3. "Mongolia (07/07)". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
4. Mongolia: Elections in 2004 IPU
5. Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p490 ISBN   0-19-924959-8
6. Schafferer, Christian (2004-12-31). "The 2004 parliamentary election in Mongolia: Big surprises and small victories". Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia. 3 (2): 1–6. doi:10.17477/jcea.2004.3.2.001. ISSN   2383-9449.
7. "Түүхэн товчоо". iznn.mn (in Mongolian). Retrieved 2025-09-06.
8. "Mongolia - Nomadic, Steppe, Pastoralism | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2025-09-17. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
9. Wang Wei-fang: The Dissolution of Mongolia's Right-Wing Alliance following the 2004 Mongolian Parliamentary Election and its Impact Archived 2011-05-25 at the Wayback Machine Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission
10. Schafferer, Christian (2005). "The Great State Hural election in Mongolia, June 2004" (PDF). fula.at. Elsevier Ltd. Retrieved 2025-09-13.
11. "Монгол Улсын Их Хурлын сонгуулийн дүн" (PDF). gec.gov.mn (in Mongolian). General Election Commission of Mongolia. p. 144. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
12. "Монгол Улсын Их Хурлын сонгуулийн дүн" (PDF). gec.gov.mn (in Mongolian). General Election Commission of Mongolia. 2021. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-09-13.