Middle Eastern Media: Why Did the Prime Minister of Mongolia Face a Vote of No Confidence

¬ The Prime Minister of Mongolia resigned after failing a vote of no confidence four months into his term

The Mongolian Parliament announced that Mongolian Prime Minister Gombodzav Zandanshatar resigned after only four months in office, following a decisive vote of no confidence in the parliament.

According to a statement from the parliament, the 126-member State Great Khural of Mongolia held a vote on Friday, with reports indicating that 111 members participated, of which 71 voted to remove Zandanshatar and 40 voted against.

It was reported that on October 10, more than 50 members submitted a motion to remove Zandanshatar, citing violations of the constitution and governance issues. The recent appointment of new ministers for justice and internal affairs by the prime minister became the focal point of controversy.

Members of parliament stated that Zandanshatar's appointment was made unilaterally without consulting the parliament as required by the Mongolian constitution, thereby undermining the principle of "separation of state powers."

At that time, the members of parliament stated in a statement: "This appointment has violated the powers of the Mongolian president and the State Great Khural, breached the basic principles of the constitution, and also violated the principle of the rule of law."

The second criticism against Zandanshatar was his public statements regarding an ongoing investigation, which were said to have undermined judicial independence and the presumption of innocence; the third accusation was that his modifications to the pricing mechanism for major mineral exporters fueled unfair competition.

Just four months ago, Mongolian lawmakers had overwhelmingly elected this 55-year-old economist, who had studied in Russia and had previously served as vice president of one of the country's largest commercial banks.

Zandanshatar succeeded former Prime Minister Luvsanmunkh Oyun-Erdene. Luvsanmunkh Oyun-Erdene had faced weeks of protests due to reports about his son's extravagant spending, which later escalated into widespread public anger against the country's political elite, eventually forcing him to resign.

This landlocked East Asian country, sandwiched between two superpowers China and Russia, has suffered from deep-rooted corruption for decades, with wealthy elites facing public anger for hoarding coal mining profits over several years.

Luvsanmunkh Oyun-Erdene (who had also failed a vote of no confidence in the parliament before submitting his resignation in June) had warned at the time that his departure could lead to further instability in this young democratic nation.

He said that if the political situation became "unstable, the economic situation deteriorated, and political parties could not reach consensus," it might put the country's "democratic parliamentary system at risk of collapse."

Losin two prime ministers within a few months will only increase people's concerns about stability, cast uncertainty over the country's future, and erode investor confidence.

Source: (Al Jazeera) News Agency

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846576932068363/

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