Mr.D.Togtohsuren, MP, head of the Mongolian People's Party caucus at the State Great Hural, Mr.O.Tsogtgerel, MP, head of the Democratic Party caucus and Mr.T.Dorjkhand, MP, leader of the HUN Party have delivered a reporting on the draft amendments to the Constitution today (2023.05.17). After the first discussion of the draft amendment to the Constitution, the members of the State Great Hural worked in their constituencies to present the draft amendments to the citizens and asked for their opinions. A second discussion has been scheduled to take place this week.

Mr.D.Togtohsuren: Parties, which are represented in the Parliament agreed to increase the number of members of the State Great Hural (Parliament) to 126 from 76

The most of citizens support a mixed electoral system. In doing so, the prevailing opinion is that the number of MPs elected by constituency representation or majority system should be preferred. Although the citizens believe that it is  acceptable to increase the number of MPs, they expressed not to support the increase to 152. The Democratic Party proposed a mixed system of 60/40, i.e. 60 percent to be elected from the constituencies and 40 percent from the lists. The representatives of the three political parties, represented in the Parliament have reached an agreement regarding this issue. Thus, it has been proposed that the number of MPs shall be increased to 126, 76 of them are to be elected from the constituencies and 50 are to be elected from the list, and decided to present the proposal to the Plenary session for discussion. 

Mr.O.Tsogtgerel: Increasing the number of MPs to 126 will improve the ability to represent citizens

The constitution itself is a big consensus document. We have reached this decision after many meetings, discussions and various views, positions that have been considered. There is a proper reason for the number 126. The first Constitution adopted in 1992 stated that the State Great Hural shall have 76 members. At that time, one MP represented about 27,000 citizens. Taking into account the current population, it is considered appropriate to have 126 members. Then, the ability of one MP to represent citizens will be improved.

Mr.T.Dorjkhand: The expenses for the current 76 members will not increase if the number of MPs is increased to 126

Our party accepted the proposal by the Democratic Party. However, we have proposed that the issue of increasing the number of members to be elected from Capital city Ulaanbaatar should be considered when discussing the law on the election of the State Great Hural. Because a MP elected from Ulaanbaatar represents 100,000 citizens on average, while 25,000-30,000 people are represented by one MP in the local area. Moreover, the leaders of the political parties have agreed not to increase the current expenses for 76 members if the number of MPs is increased to 126.  A MP’s office currently consists of one assistant, one adviser and two personal representatives, and it was agreed that it should be limited and cost-effective. Citizens remind us to pay considerable attention to the list. Therefore, the HUN Party has been proposing to sign a MOU for the eligible candidates to be included in the list. The ruling party has supported it, he said. 

The second discussion of the draft amendment to the Constitution will be held at the Plenary session of the State Great Hural this week. After that, the changes will be presented to the citizens again and public opinions will be taken.