MP Z.Enkhbold answered our correspondent’s questions relating to election issues.

Q: The MPP and DP caucuses are working on a draft election law. Would the DP like to suggest anything new to the MPP?

A: The two parties have agreed to 26 electoral districts and 48 mandate seats. But the DP suggestion that the distribution of mandates correlate to population has not been discussed. I do not like having 14 mandates in Ulaanbaatar and 34 mandates in local settlements. According to population, 20 mandates should be in Ulaanbaatar and 28 mandates in local settlements, in my thinking. But a meeting of the caucus will decide the issue.

Q: If the DP reduces the mandates in local settlements, the DP won’t get as many votes from the countryside. What do you say about that?

A: The fair choice is that the number of mandates should be correlated to population. In the opposite case, the DP would agree with the MPP’s suggestion that “our party takes more votes from the countryside, so that is why we increase local settlements’ electoral districts.”

Q: The DP noted that electoral districts will be divided according to census results. Could the draft election law be seen as the result of a DP compromise?

A: The DP compromises are a merged election system, counting votes by machine, and listing the names of voters with the General Authority for State Registration (GASR) but not the Election General Committee (EGC). The GASR will prevent people from moving [in an attempt to commit voter fraud] from a month before the election to the end of the election.

Q: Why did the EGC buy voting machines without putting the order out for bid? Some people might suspect it was a swindle.

A: Goods related to national security can be bought without a tender bid. For example, the defense sector buys its technology without a tender bid. On the other hand, there was not enough time for a tender bid. The Standing Committee on State Structure instructed [the EGC] to choose the organization that has sold the most voting machines. An American company has sold the most voting machines in the U.S. and in other countries.

Q: What about voting in military units where soldiers vote according to their commander’s order?

A: Voting by order in military units should be ceased. If a commander orders people to vote to influence results, that commander will be held criminally responsible. Soldiers will vote in civil venues, not in military units.

Q: What is special about the 28:48 version?

A: It’s a merged system like the one used in Germany. If a 38:38 version had been adopted, the election could be conducted like in Germany, but the MPP has not agreed to that version. Now one-third [of the seats in Parliament] will be apportioned by a proportional voting system and two-thirds by a majority system. A candidate could be voted into Parliament according to his or her contribution to the party vote.

Another priority is that Parliament and the Government will be separate according to the constitutional amendment. If an MP becomes a minister, he or she will lose his or her seat in Parliament, which will be transferred to somebody from the same party.

Q: Will the law on political parties be amended along with the election law change?

A: The law on political parties will not be amended if a draft law on the election isn’t passed soon. But we are interested in amending it. We have not discussed it yet, and the law could be amended a day before the election.

Q: Will women’s electoral districts be organized?

A: The law does not have a provision for women’s electoral districts. We could not force voters to vote for a woman candidate. The DP has suggested a women’s quota from the 48, but the MPP has suggested it from the 28. The DP suggestion is more favorable for women candidates.

Q: How about the EGC? It was the MPP’s organization in the 2008 election.

A: The Election General Committee should be changed and civil representatives should take part in it. The EGC is a state organization at present and political parties can not take part in it. Citizens also criticized that why the EGC employs only state officials. An election organization should employ state officials, citizens, and representatives of political parties.