Improving Citizen Participation and Feedback in Your Bagh: AManual on Town Halls
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Disclaimer
Every effort was made to ensure the accuracy of this pub-
lication. The information in this manual is for educational
and discussion purposes only. When disagreements arise be-
tween the content in this document and the Mongolian Con-
stitution, laws, resolutions and regulations take precedence.
Introduction
The International Republican Institute recognizes that
democracy is about more than elections – lasting democrat-
ic systems require leaders that govern in an accountable, re-
sponsive manner. Since its democratic transition, Mongolia
has continued to undertake a series of political reforms. Most
notable has been the movement from centralized power to a
more diffuse, decentralized governance system.
IRI has a long history in Mongolia and has been working
with Mongolians since its democratic transition in the 1990s.
Currently, IRI is assisting local officials to better manage the
new responsibilities bestowed on them by the New Budget
Law (NBL) of 2011, which came into effect in 2013, aimed at
improving the legal budget framework with increased decen-
tralization and citizen participation in the budgeting process.
This manual serves to provide an introduction to the im-
portance of constituent outreach in your bagh along with
practical guidance on the best ways to organize and conduct
town hall meetings. We hope that you will find this manu-
al useful as a starting point to improving citizen participation
and engagement in your bagh and help you in your critical
role as a representative of your constituents. As representa-
tives who are the closest to those you represent, your role re-
mains key to ensuring Mongolian’s continued success as an
example to other countries in the region and beyond of demo-
cratic governance.
