Elections for a member of the Democratic Party’s (DP) National Policy Committee and chair of province, capital city and district party committees were held electronically in six districts and two provinces on March 17.

A total of 56,985 members voted in the election. E.Bat-Uul was elected as chairman of the Ulaanbaatar DP, B.Ankhnybayar as chairman of the party committee of Khan-Uul District, B.Sainzaya as chairwoman of the party committee of Baganuur District, D.Tsogtbaatar as chairman of the party committee of Songinokhairkhan District, J.Sugarsuren as chairman of the party committee of Chingeltei District, D.Jargalsaikhan as chairman of the party committee of Darkhan-Uul Province and B.Iderzorig as chairman of the party committee of Selenge Province.

Deputy Chair of the DP of Ulaanbaatar S.Urtnasan and former Mayor of Ulaanbaatar E.Bat-Uul competed for the post of DP chair of Ulaanbaatar. The candidates held an online meeting with party members and supporters to introduce their action plans.

The Internal Election Committee (IEC) led by Kh.Altankhuyag reported on the elections on March 17.

       “The elections started at 10:00 a.m. today, and as of 11:00 a.m., a total of 12,300 members, or 9.6 percent, cast their ballots. This is the first time that e-elections have been held in Mongolia, and the results are good. In e-elections, members can vote via mobile phone, internet and a link, or by downloading an application,” said Kh.Altankhuyag.

“Citizen I.Munkhjargal’s activities violate the law. According to the party’s rules and regulations, I.Munkhjargal is not head of the IEC. He is using an invalid seal of the committee, and opened an account with Khas Bank with this invalid seal. That account is now closed. We need to stop this illegal activity,” he added.

Noting that the e-election program was not designed by affiliates of DP, Secretary for Legal Affairs of DP O.Baasankhuu said, “A highly secure electronic software developed by a professional company for the elections. In addition, we did not dissolve the IEC. Only head of the committee was replaced. I regret the four candidates running in the DP chairship election, which is being held by I.Munkhjargal. Party members should not be deceived.”

“We are conducting e-elections for the first time. We are under a lot of attacks. But we are doing our job and holding elections. Due to the pandemic, we have no choice but to hold elections electronically. We called all 130,000 members and provided election information. A new era is beginning in DP. DP is the only party that elects a party leader from among its members,” Head of DP Secretariat A.Tserenbat said.

On March 15, Leader of the party S.Erdene met with members of the DP caucus in Parliament and decided to hold the elections.