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Mongolia

Parliament Becomes More Professional and Open Through Training, Aid

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia - Parliament held its first public hearing earlier this year, as U.S.-backed reforms made the 15-year-old democracy more open to the public and the press.

Aside from advising the parliament to be more open, the USAID project carried out by the International Republican Institute (IRI) has also trained parliamentarians to create committees that can obtain information about their specialties.

The project brought U.S. congressional experts to Ulaanbaatar to advise committee chairpersons, members of parliament (MPs), and their staffs on how to hold committee hearings, draft legislation, and define the duties and responsibilities of MPs and staff alike.

"There is a lack of relationship between the MPs and their constituency, and we're working to change that, too" said Munkhjargal, parliamentary project coordinator for IRI. "We train the staff and district representatives."

"There is also a lack of research services, and we're changing that," he added, by working with the Policy Analysis Institute, which is building a database of legislation and background information.

IRI's parliamentary work began in 2002 last year and built on the success of its political party work, which ended last year after 14 years. Training under that project covered the full range of political party functions, from grassroots organization and party-building, to message design and communications.

Poll-watchers were trained in all 21 provinces in preparation for 2004 and 2005 parliamentary and presidential elections, both of which were deemed largely free of fraud.

Two years ago the project's work also led to opposition parties coalescing behind single candidates. This resulted in a major change in proportional representation: in 2000, opposition parties received 49 percent of the vote but won only four of parliament's 76 seats; in the 2004 election, however, that 49 percent of votes won them 34 seats.

Nation-wide public opinion polls before the 2004 and 2005 elections helped candidates on both sides identify key issues important to the Mongolian electorate. IRI also sponsored the inaugural "Women in Politics and Governance" forum in 2005, which helped women political activists get more involved in the political process. If a newly proposed measure is approved, at least 30 percent of the candidates for Mongolia's parliament in 2008 will be women.

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