Mongolian political strife sparks constitutional crisis: Speaker resigns, president vetoes motion to remove prime minister. What exactly happened?
On October 17, 2025, Mongolian Prime Minister Zandanshatar Gombosuren addressed the parliament. The parliament voted to remove his position as prime minister, but the president vetoed the decision.
Mongolia is once again experiencing political turmoil. On October 17, newly elected Prime Minister Zandanshatar Gombosuren was removed from his position by the parliament, and the speaker of the Mongolian State Great Khural, Chairman Amarbayasgalan Dashzeveg, resigned. These high-level changes occurred after a major power struggle within the ruling Mongolian People's Party, which has now become an unstable factor in Mongolia's governance.
This political struggle has also triggered constitutional issues. On October 20, President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh vetoed the parliament's decision to remove Prime Minister Zandanshatar Gombosuren, stating that the procedure was unconstitutional. The State Great Khural now has three days to respond.
On the evening of October 16, the parliamentary session lasted for 24 hours, finally passing a vote to remove Prime Minister Zandanshatar Gombosuren with 71 votes in favor and 2 against out of 126 seats. According to the 2019 constitutional amendment of Mongolia, the parliament has the authority to remove the prime minister with a simple majority.
In a statement, Khurelsukh criticized the procedure, claiming that "the voting formula was used incorrectly." He also claimed that the attendance at the meeting was based on the results of the vote on October 16. Khurelsukh argued that the attendance should be re-counted before the official vote on October 17.
The root of this political defeat lies in the struggle for control within the Mongolian People's Party. Last month, Zandanshatar and Amarbayasgalan fought fiercely for the party chairmanship, deepening the divisions among different factions within the Mongolian People's Party. Some even believe that this hostility began earlier when the government of Oyun-Erdene Rovsambal was overthrown and competition for the prime ministerial position intensified.
From the outside, mutual attacks and accusations between the left and right wings continue. Weeks of political maneuvering and personal attacks among party members ultimately played out within the parliament, where they voted to remove Zandanshatar from his position and also removed his main rival Amarbayasgalan from the position of speaker.
However, for the Mongolian public, this political defeat not only indicates their lack of confidence in the prime minister and his cabinet but also undermines hopes for resolving corruption cases, reducing air pollution, and increasing wages. What is truly concerning is what is happening behind the scenes, as all parties involved are trying to avoid legal hearings related to coal and corruption. These events seem familiar to the public because the Mongolian government has long been unstable, and the executive branch is often dismissed.
At the governance level, unresolved internal issues within the ruling party have now spread to the executive branch, raising more questions about accountability in Mongolia's overall political structure. This political crisis erupted while Khurelsukh (also a member of the Mongolian People's Party) was on an official visit to India.
Currently, Mongolia is preparing for another government change, while constitutional experts are discussing whether the procedure for removing Zandanshatar complies with the constitution. If the constitutional court rules that the parliament's decision to remove the prime minister is unconstitutional, Mongolia may face a "Zandanshatar 2.0," possibly leading to the replacement of ministers. If the procedure is constitutional, Zandanshatar will continue as prime minister until a new prime minister is appointed - and his rival Amarbayasgalan may run for the position.
Promises to reform the legislative body remain unfulfilled
Autumn 2025 was supposed to be the first full session of the expanded Mongolian legislative body, which currently has 126 members (a significant increase from the previous 76). Newly elected legislators from different parties were frustrated and concerned about the corrupt nature of Mongolian political life, believing its mechanisms were inadequate. On October 16, the number of legislators present at the meeting fell short of the required quorum, causing the vote to remove the prime minister to be postponed.
Newly elected Mongolian People's Party legislator Luvsanjamts Ganzorig was angry about this. In his speech, he condemned the ministers who had served multiple terms without delivering results for the people. He stated, "In the past two weeks, no legislator has discussed solutions, only excuses. I feel upset." Other Mongolian People's Party legislators who failed to attend the parliamentary session also expressed their concerns and frustrations about the legislators.
Similarly, new legislator Munkhbayaragangal Bayarsaikhan from the Democratic Party told the media, "As someone who has just entered the legislative body, I feel disgusted by the ongoing political chaos." She reminded the legislators, especially those who did not attend the meeting, that they were elected to represent the people, not politicians.
Corruption: The Root Cause
The current political landscape in Mongolia is shaped by various factors, but corruption remains a major issue.
At the end of September, after losing the Mongolian People's Party chairman election to Amarbayasgalan, Zandanshatar announced he would take over as the minister of justice and accused Amarbayasgalan of being involved in a large-scale coal theft corruption case. Zandanshatar also vowed to combat corruption allegations related to Erdenet Mining Corporation and international aid aimed at combating the pandemic.
In recent years, Mongolia's political scene has been filled with anti-corruption protests, leading to officials' resignations and government collapses. The root cause of political chaos and social hardship is long-standing corruption and judicial complacency.
In March of this year, the United Nations Human Rights Committee pointed out that the Mongolian government has failed to effectively provide resources to independent anti-corruption institutions and has not effectively utilized them. The committee expressed concern about the widespread corruption, including high-level cases involving public officials and politicians.
The committee criticized Mongolia for lacking data on convictions and sanctions for corruption cases. It also emphasized problems affecting the independence and effectiveness of the Independent Anti-Corruption Agency (IAAC), such as insufficient resources and political pressure.
The committee "called on Mongolia to strengthen anti-corruption efforts, ensure effective law enforcement, prioritize investigations and prosecutions of corruption cases involving senior politicians and officials, enhance training for legal professionals, and protect whistleblowers and witnesses."
Mongolia's corruption problem is reflected in various international indices measuring good governance. In 2024, the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) rated Mongolia 5.83 out of 10. The index indicates that corruption is a major obstacle to governance.
The 2024 BTI report also highlighted the decline in Mongolia's Electoral Democracy Index, scoring 0.527 out of 1 (in 2022 it was 0.572). This decline caused Mongolia's ranking to drop four places, from 77th to 81st in 2023.
In the Transparency International 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index, Mongolia scored 33 out of 100. Although the score has remained stagnant in recent years, it has been declining since the tenure of Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, who scored 39 in 2014 and 2015.
Despite the frequent corruption scandals and protests over the past five years, the Oyun-Erdene government, which was in power from January 2021 to June 2025, failed to resolve many corruption cases. Under the previous government led by Zandanshatar, laws to combat corruption and protect whistleblowers were stalled in the parliament for years.
Many observers point out that the Mongolian People's Party has consolidated power in three branches of government – the presidential office, the executive branch, and the legislative branch – but corruption remains a worrying issue, indicating a lack of political will in Mongolia.
The recent events have also created problems and anxieties for foreign investors who have been actively seeking to attract. With falling coal revenues and rising gold and copper prices, the government has been pushing for potential new mining projects, including those submitted in the budget before the current crisis.
Public dissatisfaction with government governance continues to rise
The Mongolian people have repeatedly expressed their concerns through protests, demonstrations, strikes, and boycotts. However, the government's response to the people's demands has always been missing.
As each development intensifies the internal disputes within the Mongolian People's Party, these factional differences hinder Mongolia's governance. The government's lack of action, especially in the face of increasing protests, demonstrations, and strikes, could lead to a revolution.
Corruption has given rise to the political landscape in Mongolia, and the problem of corruption is deeply rooted. At some point, these issues need to be thoroughly investigated and resolved. Most importantly, public confidence in the government has sharply declined. In the current environment, the general sentiment is that the Mongolian people have not benefited from any decisions made by political elites.
Sources: the diplomat
Authors: Bolor Lkhaajav and Marissa Smith
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7565094512515613199/
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