Mongolia holds its legislative election on 29 June.

The situation in Mongolia is particularly interesting. The current MPRP (or MAKN) government holds 37 seats in the 76-seat parliament and has the support of two other deputies to hold a majority. The party is quite divided and in November 2007 the MPRP ousted its own party chair, which forced the appointment of its new leader as prime minister.

The president, who was elected in 2005, is also from the MPRP. The next presidential election is in 2009. The Mongolian president is a fairly weak institution.

A feature of the Mongolian political scene is the increasing fragmentation of the party system. This time 12 parties are running for office. In the early years of Mongolian democracy, there was a clear two-block system – the MPRP vs the rest. Now, the number of parties has increased and party boundaries have become more fluid. This raises the possibility that no party will gain a majority and that a multi-party coalition will be required. It also raises the possibility of cohabitation if the opposition parties win just a handful more seats. (Remember that Mongolia has been one of the most cohabitation-prone countries since 1990).

The Mongolian electoral system is British-style SMP. This means that small shifts in support can result in big seat-swings. So, there is still all to play for. The government has been accused of corruption, but the opposition seems to lack cohesion and a clear alternative.

There is a very good chapter on Mongolia by Sophia Moestrup and Gombosurengiin Ganzorig in R. Elgie and S. Moestrup (eds.) Semi-presidentialism Outside Europe.