For a country to be democratic, it’s no longer enough to hold elections every four or five years, Mongolia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Lundeg Purevsuren told Devex associate editor Richard Jones in this #DemocracyMatters interview.
“We should secure the trust of young people,” Purevsuren said, pointing to the high rates of unemployment among youth as a key driver of the public’s mistrust and disappointment in government. “It’s the responsibility of politicians to listen to their voices and to pay attention, which also means securing the future and quality of the democracy.”
Social media is an opportunity for politicians and government officials to quickly and comprehensively demonstrate accountability to the public, Purevsuren said. And social media works both ways, he added, allowing modern governments to “listen to the opinions of the public and young people every day.”
About the author
Molly Andersmollyanders_dev
Molly Anders is a former U.K. correspondent for Devex. Based in London, she reports on development finance trends with a focus on British and European institutions. She is especially interested in evidence-based development and women’s economic empowerment, as well as innovative financing for the protection of migrants and refugees. Molly is a former Fulbright Scholar and studied Arabic in Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco.
