[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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