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 form a party are becoming increasingly more common, and it no longer fulfills the basic requirements for a democratic election. In June 2025, the Democratic party – which comprises 33 percent of total seats in the parliament and 4 appointed ministers – withdrawing from the coalition right before the collapse of the Government by parliamentary vote of no confidence. The government collapsed after weeks of youth-led-protests sparked by viral social media posts revealing the lavish lifestyle of the former Prime Minister’s family. On 12 June 2025, the State Great Khural confirmed Gombojavyn Zandanshatar as Mongolia’s new Prime Minister.
It is yet to be seen whether the new government will bring change. 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 a 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.
