Ulan Bator, Jun 26 (IANS): A total of 259 observers from 40 countries and 21 international organisations will monitor Mongolia's upcoming regular parliamentary elections, as announced by the country's General Election Commission (GEC) on Wednesday.

Also, 27 journalists from 12 international media outlets will cover the elections of the State Great Khural, the country's unicameral parliament, the commission said.

Mongolia, with a population of 3.5 million, has scheduled Friday as the date for the State Great Khural elections, reports Xinhua news agency.

The GEC has registered 1,294 candidates from 19 political parties and two coalitions, as well as 42 independents, for the parliamentary elections.

According to the law, the election campaign will be halted 24 hours before polling day.

A total of 2,238,360 Mongolian citizens are expected to cast their votes on the polling day.

In May 2023, the parliament passed amendments to increase the number of legislators from 76 to 126 in the country's constitution.

Additionally, parliament members will be elected using a mixed electoral system, in which 78 members will be elected by majority representation and 48 by proportional representation.