I had an opporutnity to meet with Namsraijav Luvsanjav, chairman of the General Election Commission of Mongolia. Mr. Luvsanjav oversees the conduct of all of the elections - federal and local - that take place in Mongolia. (Think of the Kentucky Secretary of State who oversees all elections in Kentucky.)
What a fascinating individual! I really wanted to be prepared prior to this meeting taking place so I jotted down a couple of burning questions that were on my mind and practiced with Hatnaa: 1) How does the commission create trust in the adminstration of elections? How does one insure transparency, accountability and accuracy in a setting that is rife with the potential for corruption and rigged ballot boxes? 2) How does the office divest itself of the appearance of favortisim in the political process when the ruling political party essentially appoints the members of the commission? How does the office serve as the "independent voice of the citizens?"
On the question of trust, Mr. Luvsanjav discussed in great detail the way in which the elections are conducted. Over the past few years, Mongolia has transitioned from paper ballots to electronic ballot machines in much the same way that Kentucky has done. At first this created angst and confusion among the voters, but they have come to accept that this method provides a more accurate and tamper-proof way of adminstering the elections.
He described the process by which the Division of Information and Technology partners with international organizations to write the program code for the machines to insure that the vote counting is impartial, accurate and trustworthy. The ballots are electronically scanned. The interests of the minority parties are protected through a "challenge" system and the Minority Working Group works with the Information and Technology Division's Investigative Agency to address any questions regarding the integrity of the vote.
In addition, poll workers attend mandatory training on the election procedures. About 2000 election workers are hired on a temporary basis to assist at local polling stations throughout the country. Election commissions are established in every polling district to protect the integrity of the vote on the local level, i.e the aimags, districts and soums.
Further, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international monitoring organizations monitor the election process and validate the results.
On the question of separating the commission from the appearance of political favoritism, Mr. Luvsanjav pointed out that while the position is approved by the Parliament, the integrity of the ballot must be sacrosanct. His office insures confidence in the process through the following safeguards:
(NOTE: I specifically did not use the pronoun "you" in any of my questions because I didn't want to appear to be questioning his personal integrity and this really is about the "office" and not the "man." Mr. Luvsanjav could not have been more cordial or forthright, and I really appreciated the manner in which he answered every question as well as his interest in my home state.)
Namsraijav Luvsanjav, Chairman, General Election Commission of Mongolia
What a fascinating individual! I really wanted to be prepared prior to this meeting taking place so I jotted down a couple of burning questions that were on my mind and practiced with Hatnaa: 1) How does the commission create trust in the adminstration of elections? How does one insure transparency, accountability and accuracy in a setting that is rife with the potential for corruption and rigged ballot boxes? 2) How does the office divest itself of the appearance of favortisim in the political process when the ruling political party essentially appoints the members of the commission? How does the office serve as the "independent voice of the citizens?"
On the question of trust, Mr. Luvsanjav discussed in great detail the way in which the elections are conducted. Over the past few years, Mongolia has transitioned from paper ballots to electronic ballot machines in much the same way that Kentucky has done. At first this created angst and confusion among the voters, but they have come to accept that this method provides a more accurate and tamper-proof way of adminstering the elections.
He described the process by which the Division of Information and Technology partners with international organizations to write the program code for the machines to insure that the vote counting is impartial, accurate and trustworthy. The ballots are electronically scanned. The interests of the minority parties are protected through a "challenge" system and the Minority Working Group works with the Information and Technology Division's Investigative Agency to address any questions regarding the integrity of the vote.
In addition, poll workers attend mandatory training on the election procedures. About 2000 election workers are hired on a temporary basis to assist at local polling stations throughout the country. Election commissions are established in every polling district to protect the integrity of the vote on the local level, i.e the aimags, districts and soums.
Further, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international monitoring organizations monitor the election process and validate the results.
On the question of separating the commission from the appearance of political favoritism, Mr. Luvsanjav pointed out that while the position is approved by the Parliament, the integrity of the ballot must be sacrosanct. His office insures confidence in the process through the following safeguards:
- Validation of all election results by local election monitors.
- Conducting elections in the presence of international election monitors from the UN and other democratic NGOs.
- All of the processes and results are made public.
- The process is transparent. Nothing occurs behind closed doors.
- All decisions are made in the open to insure accountability.
- The elections must be conducted fairly regardless of political party affiliation.
(NOTE: I specifically did not use the pronoun "you" in any of my questions because I didn't want to appear to be questioning his personal integrity and this really is about the "office" and not the "man." Mr. Luvsanjav could not have been more cordial or forthright, and I really appreciated the manner in which he answered every question as well as his interest in my home state.)
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