Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ULAANBAATAR321
2008-06-29 12:25:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Cable title:  

MONGOLIAN MEDIA'S RUN-UP TO PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

Tags:  PGOV OPRC KDEM KMDR KPAO MG 
pdf how-to read a cable
R 291225Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 2310
INFO AMEMBASSY BEIJING 
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 
AMEMBASSY SEOUL 
AMEMBASSY TOKYO 
AMEMBASSY DILI 
AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 
AMEMBASSY MANILA 
AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 
AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 
AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR 
NSC WASHINGTON DC
MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHINGTON DC
DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
UNCLAS ULAANBAATAR 000321 


STATE FOR EAP/CM, EAP/PD, DRL AND IIP/EAP

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV OPRC KDEM KMDR KPAO MG
SUBJECT: MONGOLIAN MEDIA'S RUN-UP TO PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

REFTEL: ULAANBAATAR 320

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION

UNCLAS ULAANBAATAR 000321


STATE FOR EAP/CM, EAP/PD, DRL AND IIP/EAP

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV OPRC KDEM KMDR KPAO MG
SUBJECT: MONGOLIAN MEDIA'S RUN-UP TO PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

REFTEL: ULAANBAATAR 320

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: In the last few days before Mongolia's June 29
Parliamentary elections, the local media organizations continued to
focus on political mud-slinging by parties and criticism of the
General Election Commission (GEC). Prime fodder in the press and on
TV has been recent promises made by the country's two biggest
parties regarding how to spread the wealth generated from
yet-to-be-developed mining. Those parties, the ruling Mongolian
People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) and the opposition Democratic
Party (DP),appear to receive a disproportionate amount of press
coverage. A newly established GEC Media Council is monitoring the
balance of coverage and working to resolve media-related disputes.
End Summary.

Conflicting Reports on Coverage Balance
--------------

2. (SBU) The Mongolian Press Institute recently stated that this
election year has featured more balanced coverage of parties, but a
recent report released by a media watchdog, the Global Institute
(GI),says the two biggest parties - the MPRP and the DP -- are
getting the lion's share of media attention. According to the GI
report, both the MPRP and the DP are receiving more than twice the
amount of coverage given to any smaller party. A final, official
report on this issue is to be released by GI after the elections.
(Note: All 76 seats in Parliament are up for grabs in the elections.
Each voter in 26 districts (20 in the provinces and six in
Ulaanbaatar) will choose between two and four candidates, depending
on the size of their district. End Note.)

Newspapers Focusing on Attacks and Accusations
--------------


3. (SBU) Mongolia's political parties, rarely shy during the
election season, are providing plenty of ammunition for the media to
report on, and newspapers in particular have taken the bait. The
vast majority of recent articles have focused not on policies or
platforms, but on accusations and innuendo involving the parties and
the GEC. (Note: Many parties have accused the GEC of pro-MPRP bias;
seven of the nine commissioners are affiliated with the MPRP. End
Note.) Some papers opted to on the tit-for-tat actions by the
competing parties. After the MPRP demanded the dismissal of the

GEC's DP-affiliated Secretary General, the Mongolian Medee newspaper
ran the headline, "The DP sends a letter of demand to the MPRP
related to its demand to dismiss the GEC Secretary General."


4. (SBU) Several recent articles have been aimed at sparking a
scandal, or discrediting a candidate. The Ardyn Erkh daily ran a
front-page story on MPRP candidate S. Bayarmunkh titled, "How much
does it cost to blackmail a constituency?" (Note: Bayarmunkh is
believed to be the owner of two TV channels and two newspapers. End
Note.) Other articles have appeared to support candidates by
assigning credit to politicians for alleged accomplishments. Zuuny
Medee recently credited candidate D. Nyamhuu with "saving the
children's playground" in a city district.

The Big Issue: Mongolia's Natural Resources
--------------


5. (SBU) Mongolia's media have, however, generally taken a higher
road in covering the important and controversial issue of Mongolia's
natural resources, and how to distribute the gains from them. In
response to the DP's platform of "treasure sharing," the MPRP
promised 1.5 million Tugruks ($1,290) for every citizen under the
slogan, "the country's profit." This was not contained in the
MPRP's platform, leading critics to call it a violation of the
Election Law. This allegation, and counter-allegations, led to
conflicting news reports; some pinned the blame on the MPRP, while
others rallied to the MPRP's defense.

TV Attacks and Advertisements
--------------


6. (SBU) This campaign season, Mongolia's usually staid domestic TV
programming has been a virtual battleground for political parties
and their proxies. On June 26, the leaders of the MPRP and DP held
their first and only debate of the campaign. (See reftel.)
Initially, the debate was to be held on Mongolian National
Television. But the GEC warned that if the public broadcaster were
to air the debate, it would be a violation of the Election Law
provision requiring equal public airtime for all parties and
candidates. In the end, the debate was aired on commercial TV.

7. (SBU) The parties have moved beyond mere attack and support ads
to influence voting habits. As reported in Odriin Sonin, the Civil
Will Party sent a letter to the GEC demanding a stop to an ad, which
shows voters circling candidates from the same political party
(6/16). Recent support ads have run the gimlet from adoration of a
candidate to more subtle attempts to portray a candidate as closely
tied to Mongolian traditions.


8. (SBU) The MPRP has even resorted to the music video as a form of
campaigning: The video features citizens in Chinggis Khan-era
traditional clothing and military garb, singing the praises of their
motherland. A plethora of traditional Mongolian rituals and
objects, such as calligraphy, abound as the MPRP logo and name
appears as a watermark on the screen.

Advertising in the Capital
--------------


9. (SBU) In addition to the continued use of campaign trucks and
Mongolian gers to disseminate party advisements, there has been an
increase in canvassers filling the streets. These volunteers can be
found outside grocery stores and in high pedestrian traffic areas
handing out flyers and pamphlets. There have been reports of
anonymous distribution of campaign literature. As the Odriin Sonin
reports, voters from one city district received materials featuring
photos of three candidates from three different parties. "None of
the political parties admits to distributing this material" (6/19).



10. (SBU) In the weeks before the election, commercial billboards
were hard to find as ever more campaign billboards filled the
streets. Examples of candidate slogans on these signs include
"Peace, Not War", "Together", and "Right Ideas, Right Choice."
Despite early restraint by the parties, they have been unable to
resist using the promise of money as an adverting strategy. After
the DP flooded towns in 2004 with posters displaying a baby holding
a ten thousand Tugruks bill (promising as much for every child),
they have since upped the ante, according to critics. DP posters
promise 1 million Tugruks for every citizen from the development of
Mongolian's mining resources. "Certificates" bearing the MPRP logo,
a Chinggis Khan image from the Mongolian 20,000 Tugruk bill, and two
smiling Mongolians have been circulating.


11. (SBU) The parties have rolled out their true secret weapons in
recent advertisement campaigns, using famous Mongolian celebrities
and pop stars to drum up support. This appears to be following the
strategy followed by one successful candidate in 2004, whose
campaign poster featured him alongside Mongolian's most famous sumo
wrestlers.

Establishment of the Media Council
--------------


12. (SBU) As reported in the Unen newspaper, the GEC has
established a Media Council to track the balance of election
coverage by the media. According to a Ordiin Sonin article on June
20, "The main purpose of the Media Council is to monitor the
equality of the candidates' media coverage, review complaints and
make recommendations to the GEC following the election". Following
the 2004 election, there were calls from watchdog NGOs such as Globe
Institute for the creation of such a council.

Comment
--------------


13. (SBU) In the final week before the elections, , the candidates
and parties are used available means to cast their opponents in a
negative light. The media has closely reported these fights, but
has also made the debate over Mongolia's natural resources a central
issue. Nevertheless, the parties are primarily using advertising
and promises to sway votes, rather than emphasizing specific
policies and platforms. Nonetheless, citizens' intense interest and
participation is generally a healthy sign regarding Mongolia's
democratic development and commitment to free elections. End
Comment.

MINTON