Mongolia Elections: Where Cash Talks, and Everyone Listens

Mongolia's 2024 parliamentary elections once again brought the role of money in politics to the forefront.

The prevailing narrative in Mongolia is that influential figures secure power by exploiting the economic vulnerability of ordinary people, effectively buying their way into office. This practice is sometimes perceived as a distorted form of wealth redistribution in a country grappling with widespread poverty.

The media rumor suggests the process begins long before voters cast their ballots. Securing a coveted spot on a party list often requires navigating an opaque system of internal party financing.

Aspiring politicians may need to make significant contributions (allegedly as much as $1 million) to the party or influential middlemen to secure a nomination. This pre-election scramble for political access, with its whispers of exorbitant sums changing hands, reinforces the perception that power is for sale.

Once nominated, candidates face the daunting task of running expansive campaigns across vast multi-province constituencies. Transport, logistics, advertising, and staffing costs quickly add up. One candidate claimed that ₮800 million (~ $230k) would have been sufficient for victory in an Ulaanbaatar district in 2024, but that this amount could easily escalate in rural constituencies where candidates reportedly traversed 1,000 kilometers daily together with their staff and volunteers to reach remote voters.

Campaign finance laws impose limits on spending and donations, but loopholes persist, and the publicly disclosed figures may not reflect the full extent of campaign financing.

While skeptics believe vote-buying tactics likely remain a part of Mongolian elections, the 2024 contest revealed a shift toward more diverse funding sources.