As With Western Politics, Mongolians Will Wait A Long TimeiSunday, March 1st, 2015 What kind of political party are Mongolians missing?
A detailed survery on public perception and attitude towards Mongolia’s economic, business, and political environment was carried out by Sant Maral Foundation in November, 2014. Half of the survey respondents believed that Mongolia was on the wrong track, whereas one-third thought that we were heading to the right direction. Also, the biggest obstacle facing Mongolia was seen to be economic decline by half of the respondents, while 17 percent believed that it was corruption. Forty percent of total respondents thought that the largest economic problem was employment, 21 percent stated that it was poverty, and 19 percent perceived that inflation was the prime culprit for economic hardship.
This survey clearly demonstrates that Mongolians are frustrated and feel hopeless about the recurring economic recessions, the livelihoods that aren’t improving regardless of strong efforts, and falling purchasing power.
What is adding fuel to the fire is that the government keeps getting bigger while people cannot find jobs and the income inequality gap widens. After a long time without government stability and clarity around the budget, the long term economic vision fades and the people have lost their faith in the government. Also, the private sector, the driver of economy, has gone into a position filled with doubt and expectations.
As if they listened to the demanding cries of the public, several groups of citizens announced that they would be forming new political forces at the beginning of the year. One of those groups is the Khugjil Khun club, which was established just before the Lunar New Year. The club consists of younger, educated people, most of whom acquired their degrees abroad. They announced that they would be spearheading technocrats who are united under a common goal and a shared passion to find a solution to the current political and economic problems. The club called on other like-minded people to join them.
Approximately 27 percent of our population today are under the age of 15, and 38 percent are 15 to 35 years old. This means that around 65 percent of our total population does not have the firsthand experience of living in a socialist society. These people, along with many others, have been demanding a different type of public governance – a new kind of government.
WEAKNESS OF POLITICAL PARTIES
The current political parties in ruling power and the groups of people representing them are not able to run the country, regardless of what coalitions they come up with. Consecutive economic recessions, recurrent changes in government, ever-growing debt, the entitlement mentality of the public, rising crime rates, and an increasing number of business bankruptcies clearly demonstrate that the manner they are running the country today has long been obsolete.
These political parties have grown old in their cradle without being able to get out of it, as they are guided by loyalty to their seniors rather than a true will to run the country. These political parties are representing and protecting the interests of a few individuals instead of serving the public, and have been faking democracy by deceiving the people with fancy words and empty promises. As soon as the political parties acquire ruling power, they forget their election promises, get comfortably used to power and authority, and become willing to promise anything in order to retain their seats after the next election. It has been long since these political parties have marked their territory on public property and replaced their management with their own men. As a result, companies that are hidden behind the name “state” or “government” are now owned by only a handful of individuals. Almost all state-owned companies are completely debt-ridden and are running deficits while toying with money from taxpayers. For example, if the state-owned company Erdenes Tavantolgoi had not been established, Mongolians would not have a debt of one billion USD today.
Political power has been “privatized” by the political parties, which is why many desperately needed development projects, especially those in mining and infrastructure, go into a stalemate unless they are profitable for the incumbent authorities. The projects that were started by the previous government are now stuck for some odd reasons. It shows that the Mongolian government has lost its continuity.
These political parties are now owned by their senior management. Therefore, only a few individuals at the top, the “mafia bosses”, make decisions about where money would come from and what it should be spent on. This situation makes it impossible for the political parties to voluntarily start reform from inside the organization.
EXPECTATIONS FOR A NEW POLITICAL PARTY
In a democratic society, people who hope to acquire ruling power unite with each other and found a political party. The members of a political party share the same ideology, as well as social values, while actively taking part in achieving their political party’s mission. The primary responsibilities of a political party are representing the people, developing policies, preparing their leaders, establishing the government, and calling on voters to take part.
A political party is a non-profit organization and it must have its objectives clearly defined, setting out what changes it would bring once the political party assumes ruling power. Every party member must be aware of the extent of their involvement in achieving the party’s goals and be committed to making them happen.
However, Mongolian political parties and their members are not able to fulfill these responsibilities. It is the reason why people are not accepting them as governance institutions. Therefore, Mongolians today are looking at the individual, not the political party they represent, when voting. But political power is granted to a political party, not an individual.
If a new political party has a clearly set ideology, transparent operations, and a system where decisions are made collaboratively rather than by a single individual, it will be able to receive broad-based support from people. When it comes to structural changes, political parties must have clear principles that are acknowledged by all members.
The most pressing problem in Mongolia’s democracy today is making political party financing transparent. It cannot be done by the current political parties as they would have to reveal that they have violated many laws. It is time to establish a political institution that produces quarterly financial reports, has them audited, and discloses the results to the public.
The General Election Commission should be changed to a Commission of Voters, the governing board of which should consist of widely acknowledged and respected individuals, mostly those without political affiliations. If this standard, followed in countries with more mature democracies than ours is adopted by a new political force, it would instantly make them different than others.
Mongolians are waiting for a political party with a clear ideology, good leadership, integrity, and, at least, transparent financial reporting.
If the current political parties are not able to undertake such changes and transform, it is time to discard them and a new political party should be welcomed. It must not be forgotten that people must maintain strong requirements and standards to ensure that the new political parties do not make the same mistakes as the former ones have.