CALD-FNF conducts mission to Mongolia

Freedom in the World Survey 2010 of Freedom House ranked it as one of few “free” countries in the Asia-Pacific region, but the world did not seem to notice.  In a region witnessing a continuous erosion of political rights and civil liberties, one country has consistently proved its commitment to freedom and adherence to democratic values – Mongolia

It was in this light that the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF) organized a mission to this Asian heartland last September 27-30, 2010. The delegation was composed of CALD Executive Director, Lito Arlegue, and FNF Regional Director for East and Southeast Asia, Dr. Rainer Adam.

The mission was coordinated by the Civil Will Party (CWP), one of the main political parties in Mongolia with representation in the Mongolian Parliament (State Great Hural).  CWP recently joined Liberal International (LI) as an observer member in 2009, and previously participated in CALD’s Manila Conference on Asian Political Parties in Power last June 2010.

In the past, CWP spearheaded the passage of Anti-Corruption Law, and a legislation on financial transparency of government officials and  political parties.  In recent years, the party has broaden its advocacies to include reform of the electoral system, poverty alleviation and sustainable development.

While the party is now in opposition, it had previously been part of government from 2004-2008 as one of the three democratic parties which formed the Democratic Coalition.  The Coalition collapsed in 2006, and in 2008, the ex- communist Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP) regained control of the Parliament. In 2009, CWP decided to become part of the Democratic Union to contest the Presidential elections, which the Union won with a narrow margin over the MPRP candidate.

The CWP chairperson, Dr. Sanjaasuren Oyun, MP,  has been consistently elected in the parliament since 1998.  Dr. Oyun, sister of assasinated leader of the democratic movement, Sanjaasuren Zorig, is the only only woman leading a party in Mongolia, and the only female politician consistently voted as one of the ten most popular politicians in the country.

The CALD-FNF delegation, apart from meeting the key officials and members of CWP, also had a dialogue with the leaders of other major parties in the country, such as the MPRP and the Democratic Party.  A meeting was also set with the country representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS).

At the conclusion of the mission, CALD-FNF and CWP expressed their appreciation of each other’s efforts which made the mission possible, and agreed to pursue further cooperation in the future.

The CWP will be represented in CALD’s upcoming election mission to Taiwan in November 2010.

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This post was written by CALD