2017 Mongolian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Mongolia on 26 June 2017. Incumbent President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, first elected in 2009 and re-elected in 2013, was constitutionally barred from running for a third term.^[1] For the first time, no candidate received a majority of the vote in the first round, forcing a run-off between Khaltmaagiin Battulga and Miyeegombyn Enkhbold on 7 July, brought forward from 9 July.^[2][3][4] The third-placed candidate Sainkhuugiin Ganbaatar refused to recognise the results after he missed out on the second round due to finishing 1,849 votes behind Enkhbold, claiming fraud and that an additional 35,000 votes had been added to the total. His Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party demanded a recount of votes in Bayan-Ölgii.^[5]

2017 Mongolian presidential election

← 2013 26 June 2017 (first round) 7 July 2017 (second round) 2021 →
Majority of the popular vote needed to prevent a run-off
Nominee Khaltmaagiin Battulga Miyeegombyn Enkhbold Party Democratic MPP Popular vote 611,226 497,067 Percentage 55.15% 44.85%
Second round results by province
President before election Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj Democratic Elected President Khaltmaagiin Battulga Democratic

In the second round, Battulga was narrowly elected with 50.61% of the valid votes, or 55% of the votes cast for a candidate.

Electoral system

The President of Mongolia is elected using the two-round system.^[6] Mongolia's electoral law considers the blank votes casts in presidential elections as valid votes. The General Election Commission thus includes blank votes in its calculations of the proportion of the vote won by each candidate; as a result, it is possible for no candidate to receive a majority of the vote in the second round. If this happens, the entire election is annulled and fresh elections would be held with new candidates.^[7]

Candidates

Three parties were eligible to put forward a presidential candidate; the Mongolian People's Party (MPP), the Democratic Party (DP) and the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP).^[8] The candidates selected were:

• Miyeegombyn Enkhbold – Mongolian People's Party – MP, former Prime Minister of Mongolia (2006–2007), incumbent Speaker of the State Great Khural and current leader of the MPP^[8][9]
• Sainkhüügiin Ganbaatar – Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party – former MP. Leader of the National Labour Party of Mongolia (Хөдөлмөрийн Үндэсний нам).
• Khaltmaagiin Battulga – Democratic Party – former MP^[9]

The MPRP had originally selected Nambaryn Enkhbayar as its candidate at a conference on 5 May. However, the Mongolian Election Commission refused to allow Enkhbayar to run as a candidate as he had an outstanding criminal record and had not spent the last five years in the country, having lived abroad from August 2013 until October 2014. As a result, the party selected Sainkhuugiin Ganbaatar as its candidate. The party's sole MP, Oktyabriin Baasankhüü, was opposed to Ganbaatar's nomination and left the party.^[10]

Use of blank vote as strategic voting

With the election being the first time a second round was needed, it became apparent the electoral law was imprecise on the rule of campaigning in between the two rounds. The lack of clear rule was interpreted by the General Commission for Elections (GCE) as an interdiction on political campaign. Sainkhüügiin Ganbaatar, who narrowly missed the second round, began a campaign calling to cast a blank vote, so as to have none of the remaining candidate reach the 50% threshold needed, leading to a new election. While not a campaign for a candidate per se, this was nonetheless ruled by the GCE as an electoral campaign, and thus forbidden. In the second round, 99,494 blank votes were gathered, totalling 8.23% of the total of valid votes, failing close to the intended result by a few thousand votes.^[11]

Results

With the blank votes being officially included Battulga passed the 50% threshold by just 7,333 votes (50.61%).

Candidate		Party	First round		Second round
			Votes	%	Votes	%
	Khaltmaagiin Battulga	Democratic Party	517,478	38.64	611,226	55.15
	Miyeegombyn Enkhbold	Mongolian People's Party	411,748	30.75	497,067	44.85
	Sainkhüügiin Ganbaatar	Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party	409,899	30.61
Total			1,339,125	100.00	1,108,293	100.00
Valid votes			1,339,125	98.63	1,108,293	91.76
Invalid/blank votes			18,663	1.37	99,494	8.24
Total votes			1,357,788	100.00	1,207,787	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,978,298	68.63	1,990,787	60.67
Source: GEC, GEC

By area

First round

Subdivision
	K. Battulga DP		M. Enkhbold MPP		S. Ganbaatar MPRP
Aimags of Mongolia
Arkhangai	12,398	31.47%	12,059	30.61%	14,932	37.90%
Bayan-Ölgii	14,218	36.68%	19,332	49.88%	5,205	13.43%
Bayankhongor	23,886	60.44%	11,497	29.09%	4,137	10.46%
Bulgan	8,585	32.23%	7,782	29.22%	10,263	38.53%
Govi-Altai	6,565	27.06%	9,592	39.54%	8,101	33.39%
Dornogovi	9,206	32.44%	9,535	33.60%	9,635	33.95%
Govisümber	2,414	34.47%	2,031	29.00%	2,557	36.51%
Dornod	10,288	33.94%	8,092	26.70%	11,924	39.34%
Dundgovi	5,414	27.67%	5,142	26.28%	9,004	46.03%
Zavkhan	12,022	38.46%	12,505	40.01%	6,726	21.52%
Övörkhangai	14,624	31.50%	17,908	38.58%	13,883	29.91%
Ömnögovi	8,087	30.16%	7,238	26.99%	11,484	42.83%
Sükhbaatar	9,320	33.58%	10,023	36.11%	8,411	30.30%
Selenge	14,844	32.28%	15,619	33.96%	15,519	33.75%
Töv	11,253	27.67%	16,546	40.69%	12,855	31.62%
Uvs	10,355	30.67%	16,698	49.46%	6,703	19.85%
Khovd	10,060	29.58%	13,724	40.35%	10,221	30.05%
Khövsgöl	17,420	32.24%	18,802	34.80%	17,804	32.95%
Khentii	11,253	36.04%	7,804	24.99%	12,162	38.95%
Darkhan-Uul	12,427	30.05%	12,565	30.39%	16,351	39.54%
Orkhon	14,771	34.28%	9,863	22.89%	18,451	42.82%
Düüreg of Ulaanbaatar
Khan-Uul	34,595	46.50%	21,027	28.26%	18,761	25.22%
Baganuur	4,275	35.34%	4,077	33.71%	3,742	30.94%
Bagakhangai	509	25.94%	1,104	56.26%	349	17.78%
Bayanzürkh	67,336	45.21%	37,911	25.45%	43,661	29.32%
Nalaikh	5,542	34.28%	4,172	25.81%	6,450	39.90%
Sükhbaatar	29,407	46.50%	18,303	28.94%	15,524	24.55%
Chingeltei	31,065	43.39%	17,591	24.57%	22,923	32.02%
Bayangol	48,314	50.59%	25,831	27.04%	21,350	22.35%
Songino Khairkhan	63,978	38.47%	36,286	25.86%	50,022	35.65%
Overseas	2,979	63.19%	995	21.10%	740	15.69%
Total	517,478	38.10%	411,748	30.30%	409,899	30.19%

Second round

Subdivision
	K. Battulga DP		M. Enkhbold MPP
Aimags of Mongolia
Arkhangai	16,763	47.43%	15,559	43.91%
Bayan-Ölgii	16,201	42.11%	21,306	55.38%
Bayankhongor	23,085	64.65%	11,944	33.45%
Bulgan	11,568	49.95%	9,360	40.42%
Govi-Altai	8,334	40.51%	10,793	52.46%
Dornogovi	11,657	44.86%	12,456	47.93%
Govisümber	2,764	42.13%	3,331	50.77%
Dornod	13,535	51.52%	10,271	39.09%
Dundgovi	6,420	36.93%	8,243	47.42%
Zavkhan	14,632	48.99%	13,993	46.85%
Övörkhangai	20,209	48.46%	19,001	45.57%
Ömnögovi	10,258	48.14%	8,412	39.48%
Sükhbaatar	11,628	48.51%	10,860	45.31%
Selenge	18,381	44.16%	20,032	48.12%
Töv	14,562	40.22%	19,192	53.01%
Uvs	12,172	39.23%	17,367	55.97%
Khovd	13,135	44.10%	14,451	48.52%
Khövsgöl	24,135	49.20%	21,550	43.93%
Khentii	14,452	53.75%	9,658	35.92%
Darkhan-Uul	16,496	45.54%	16,154	44.59%
Orkhon	20,042	53.78%	12,452	33.41%
Düüreg of Ulaanbaatar
Khan-Uul	38,047	56.19%	23,476	34.67%
Baganuur	5,193	47.71%	4,791	44.02%
Bagakhangai	682	36.73%	1,108	59.67%
Bayanzürkh	75,765	55.11%	49,030	35.66%
Nalaikh	6,979	45.52%	7,068	46.10%
Sükhbaatar	32,634	55.60%	20,717	35.30%
Chingeltei	34,807	54.02%	23,382	36.29%
Bayangol	51,596	58.63%	29,102	33.07%
Songino Khairkhan	64,272	50.87%	50,343	39.85%
Overseas	2,030	75.86%	497	18.57%
Total	611,226	50.61%	497,067	41.16%