Mongolia has a sole legislative body, the State Great Hural (the Parliament – “Hural” means “meeting” in Mongolian). The legislature is unicameral and consists of 76 members, 48 elected by a mixed member proportional system representing single member constituencies, and 28 elected by a proportional representation system. Members serve a four-year term, and the State Great Hural can override any presidential veto with a two-thirds majority vote.
The Parliament holds two sessions per year, one in the spring and one in the autumn. As the supreme governmental body, the 76 members are empowered to pass and amend laws, define domestic, foreign and financial policy, set economic and social development guidelines, ratify international agreements, and supervise the implementation of its laws and decisions.
The President, the government (usually the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister, or Ministers who are members of Parliament) and individual members can propose legislation. The Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs is responsible for drafting laws in collaboration with the relevant ministry for a specific proposal; a working group is formed to draft the law, which will be submitted to parliament. The working group may seek input from private and public organisations, NGOs, and community-based organisations. Draft laws come in three varieties: a new law, an amendment of an existing law, a rewriting of an existing law. The last elections for Parliament took place in June 2016, the next is expected for 2020. The last Presidential election happened in 2013, the next election is expected to take place in January 2017. The President has prioritised climate change mitigation and environment protection and has contributed to a number of international climate forums. In June 2014, the Minister of Environment and Green Development was elected the first president of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA).