Mongolia Enabling Environment Baseline Snapshot

After eight years under one-party rule, Mongolia amended its Constitution (See Clause 20 and 21) in 2023, laying the ground for representation of more parties in the Parliament. Despite the result of the 2024 Parliamentary election, where five parties were represented, three parties, holding 118 seats out of a total of 126, established a Coalition government, eroding hopes for a stronger opposition.  According to V-DEM Institute’s Democracy report, Mongolia is one of 19 countries where legal and financial barriers to forming a party are becoming increasingly more common, and it no longer fulfills the basic requirements for a democratic election.

Mongolia's civic space was downgraded from 'Narrowed' to 'Obstructed' in the 2024 CIVICUS assessment. Since then, the country’s legislative authorities have not initiated notable efforts to improve the situation. Criminalisation of human rights defenders for their legitimate and vital activities raises concerns as existing legal frameworks continue to be utilised to shut down critical voices. According to a 2025 paper  by the Open Society Foundation, there are a total of 810 clauses and regulations in 318 laws currently in effect in the country that may have negative impact on the realisation of human rights. Legal restrictions on civil society organisations and freedom of expression, coordinated disinformation campaigns aimed at discrediting civil society actors, exacerbated by underlying weak reputation of civil society and media organisations, play a vital role in limiting civic space.