Electoral gifting and personal politics in Mongolia’s parliamentary election season

In the run-up to parliamentary elections in Mongolia, it is not uncommon for aspiring political candidates to distribute things like noodles, calendars and cash to citizens. Although the practice is prohibited, it continues to thrive under different guises. This article examines electoral gifting in Uvs, Mongolia, before the 2016 parliamentary election. Drawing on ethnography, it suggests that gifts provide citizens a tool to evaluate candidates while also affording candidates the opportunity to make aspects of themselves known publicly, often through the giving of items that express their economic acumen and business success. It reveals entanglements between politics and the economy, whereby the electioneering landscape is skewed in favour of individuals who can demonstrate that they are either a ‘big person’ who embodies access to wealth, or someone who has the ability to ‘do things’ to generate wealth. Instead of seeing gifting through the prism of democratic ideals, the article argues that the practice operates within culturally specific responsibilities and obligations.