[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 99 (Monday, July 8, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7415-S7417]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      SENATE RESOLUTION 276--CONGRATULATING THE PEOPLE OF MONGOLIA

  Mr. ROBB submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 276

       Whereas Mongolia conducted elections on June 30, 1996, for 
     its unicameral national parliament, the Great Hural;
       Whereas Mongolian voters cast their ballots in a peaceful 
     and orderly fashion at 1590 polling places, choosing from 
     among 351 candidates representing 11 different parties and 
     coalitions;
       Whereas the primary issues facing Mongolian voters were the 
     scope and pace of continued democratization and economic 
     liberalization;
       Whereas the former Communist Mongolian People's 
     Revolutionary Party (MPRP) suffered a dramatic and unexpected 
     loss at the polls, and the Democratic Union Coalition won 
     majority control of the Great Hural;
       Whereas the Democratic Union Coalition espoused a policy of 
     strengthening democratic institutions, implementing free 
     market economic reforms, and strengthening the independence 
     of the judiciary;
       Whereas voter turnout exceeded 87 percent according to 
     preliminary reports;
       Whereas an international election observation team led by 
     former Secretary of State James A. Baker traveled to nine 
     different areas of Mongolia to observe pre-election day 
     preparations and Mongolian citizens voting on election day; 
     and
       Whereas the United States election observers judged the 
     election to be free, peaceful, and fair, with the results 
     respected by all sides: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate hereby congratulates the people 
     of Mongolia for--
       (1) overwhelmingly embracing democracy through their 
     participation in the June 30, 1996, elections for the 
     national parliament, the Great Hural;
       (2) conducting free, fair, and credible elections;
       (3) continuing to build on the progress of the past and 
     moving further away from their previous dependence on a 
     communist system; and
       (4) serving as an example to the peoples of East Asia who 
     seek further democratization of their countries.
       Sec. 2. The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a copy 
     of this resolution to the President with the request that he 
     further transmit such copy to the Government of Mongolia.

  Mr. ROBB. Mr. President, during our short Independence Day recess, 
there were a number of elections overseas that captured our attention.
  Certainly the most important involved the reelection of Boris Yeltsin 
as President of Russia--a positive development for democracy abroad, 
and a defeat for the Communist Party there that unfortunately maintains 
the support of a sizable portion of the electorate.
  Another election that might have gone otherwise unnoticed, except for 
the stunning results which it produced, occurred in Mongolia on June 
30.
  I had the opportunity to join with former Secretary of State Jim 
Baker and several other distinguished observers in visiting polling 
stations across the plains of Mongolia to watch democracy in action.
  Mr. President, what occurred in Mongolia a week ago Sunday was truly 
historic.
  Parliamentary elections there produced dramatic results: Democratic 
reformers upended the ruling former Communist Party seized majority 
control of the legislature for the first time, and are now in position 
to set this vast country on a bold new course.
  The seismic political shift in Mongolia was unexpected, to say the 
least.
  The ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party [MPRP] held 71 of 
76 seats in the Great Hural, Mongolia's unicameral legislature.
  U.S. Embassy cable reporting just days before the vote suggested that 
the democratic opposition parties would be doing well to win 25 seats. 
But Embassy officials cautioned that their sources believed that was 
something of an optimistic projection.
  Mr. President, the democratic opposition won twice that number of 
seats and assumed majority responsibility for Mongolia's future in the 
process.
  The electoral math confirms that 50 of 76 parliamentary seats were 
won by the Democratic Union Coalition Party.
  The former Communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party dropped 
from 71 to 24 seats in the Great Hural.
  The MPRP, Mongolia's ruling party since 1923, was unceremoniously

[[Page S7417]]

bounced right out of office. Moreover, leading MPRP officials--the 
Foreign Minister, two Deputy Prime Ministers, the Labor Minister, and 
the head of the MPRP--not only lost majority control, but lost their 
seats in the Great Hural as well.
  U.S. election observers covered more than 1,000 kilometers making 
nine stops over 2 days observing first hand the careful approach to 
preparations as well as the actual conduct of elections. I believe I 
can speak for the entire group in stating that Mongolian officials were 
meticulous in administering the elections.
  On election day, voter names were checked carefully on the 
registration rolls; actual ballots were handled with great care and 
efficiency; party representatives were provided unimpeded viewing 
access at polling stations; all ballot counting procedures were 
accessible to pollwatchers and international observers alike; and many 
vote totals were counted three, four, and five times over for accuracy.
  Mr. President, though most Mongolians had to cover vast distances on 
foot or horseback, more than 87 percent of eligible voters turned out 
for what we observed to be free, fair, and transparent elections, 
without a hint of fraud.
  As election observers, our primary concern involved the process--not 
necessarily the result--but we could not ignore history being made 
before our very eyes.
  The Democratic Union Coalition offered a political and economic 
prescription that obviously resonated with a broad cross section of the 
population, particularly the younger voters from Mongolian herdsmen to 
city workers in Ulaanbattar.
  The new coalition party vows to make government more transparent. It 
hopes to strengthen local decision-making, make the judiciary more 
independent, and accelerate decentralization of the economy.
  The party endorses privatizing 60 percent of state-owned enterprises 
by the year 2000.
  It is a very progressive agenda.
  Mr. President, given the harsh economic and social challenges facing 
Mongolia, it will be extremely difficult for the new parliamentarians 
to meet expectations, so our support will be crucial.
  In our post-election meeting with President Ochirbat on Monday, I 
pledged to explore the idea of legislative exchanges that would help 
the approximately 80 percent of the newly elected Great Hural members 
who have no prior legislative experience.
  Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs, Kent 
Wiedemann, pledged similar cooperation from the executive branch of our 
Government. And former Secretary Baker agreed to encourage renewed 
international support from the nations he dealt with when he convened 
the original Mongolian Donors Group.
   Mr. President, today, I am submitting a Senate resolution that 
congratulates the people of Mongolia for: First, embracing democracy in 
these parliamentary elections; second, conducting free, fair, and 
credible elections; third, building on the progress of the past and 
moving further away from their previous dependence on a Communist 
system; and fourth, serving as an example to other East Asian countries 
that the people deserve a voice in choosing their government.
  That last point is worth keeping in mind.
  I believe the winds of democratic change are getting stronger in East 
Asia.
  The Philippines, Cambodia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan--and now 
Mongolia.
  The trend toward democratization and economic liberalization is 
undeniable. What happened in Mongolia represents a geopolitical step in 
the right direction for East Asia.
   Mr. Speaker, the day I left Mongolia, President Ochirbat said to me, 
``Democracy in Mongolia has become irreversible and the people have a 
strong confidence in it.'' Well we now have a strong confidence in the 
people of Mongolia, and applaud them for joining the democratic 
community of nations.
   Mr. President, in closing I would like to offer a brief word of 
thanks to the Asia Foundation, which helped organize this election 
observation mission, the International Republican Institute for its 
sustained efforts at party-building within Mongolia, and fellow 
election observers who joined me on the trip.
  They were: former Secretary of State Jim Baker, current Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kent Wiedemann, 
former Senator Dick Clark, former Congressman Elliot Levitas, M. Graeme 
Bannerman, of Bannerman & Associates, Casimir Yost, of the Georgetown 
University Institute of Diplomacy, and David Carroll, of the Carter 
Center in Atlanta.
  Our Ambassador in Ulaanbaatar, Donald C. Johnson, deserves special 
commendation in particular for helping to organize the election 
monitoring trip. We had an opportunity to visit with voters at various 
sites around the country, and benefited from his and Deputy Chief of 
Mission Llewellyn Hedgbett's advice and counsel along the way.
  Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I ask, if I may, to speak for 1 minute 
in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I am sure I could speak for the Senate 
in expressing our appreciation to the Senator from Virginia for his 
services as an election observer in that distinguished company, and the 
auspicious outcome. But perhaps not sufficiently noticed, we are 
creating a new institution in the world--the election observers. I am 
sure they were from more than just the United States--in Ulaanbaatar--
something hardly conceivable 30 years ago and now natural and 
increasingly important.
  I thank the Senator from Virginia.

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