Presidential elections were held in Mongolia on 24 May 2009. They were contested between incumbent Nambaryn Enkhbayar, supported by the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, and Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, who had support of the Democratic Party and the opposition parties. Elbegdorj declared himself the victor before the count was official but based on his party's counts. Enkhbayar admitted a narrow defeat shortly after and said that he would respect the results, marking the second time an incumbent president had lost their bid for re-election - following Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat in the 1997 election.

The Mongolian People's Party (MPP) is a social democratic political party in Mongolia. It was founded as a communist party in 1920 by Mongolian revolutionaries and is the oldest political party in Mongolia. The party played an important role in the Mongolian Revolution of 1921, which was inspired by the Bolsheviks' October Revolution. Following independence, it governed Mongolia as a one-party socialist state. The party changed its name to the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) and joined the Communist International in 1924 and served as a sole-ruling party of the Mongolian People's Republic.