Mongolia’s president vetoes effort to unseat PM

President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh claims parliament’s vote to oust the PM is invalid because of ‘procedural flaws’.

Mongolia’s president has vetoed a parliamentary resolution to dismiss the country’s prime minister, deepening a political crisis in the resource-rich state.

President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh issued the veto on Monday, three days after parliament voted to oust Prime Minister Gombojav Zandanshatar, who had drawn anger for changing the country’s mineral policy.

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Khurelsukh’s office said parliament’s attempt to remove Zandanshatar, a fellow member of the ruling Mongolian People’s Party (MPP), was invalid because it did not have a quorum when it began the session.

“These procedural flaws constitute a breach of the Constitution and compromise the principle of the rule of law,” said the president in a statement cited by the state Montsame news agency.

Mongolia’s constitutional court has scheduled a meeting to discuss the president’s veto.

The contention over Zandanshatar’s fate is part of a deeper feud within the MPP. In September, Zandanshatar lost a party leadership election to his chief rival, parliamentary speaker Amarbayasgalan Dashzegve, who himself resigned last week amid corruption allegations.

The crisis follows a wave of popular unrest in Mongolia, which though rich in natural resources, has been bogged down by perceived corruption and a weak economy.

Such tumult forced out Zandanshatar’s predecessor, Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, in June after he lost a no-confidence vote in Mongolia’s parliament.

Zandanshatar, for his part, had faced criticism from lawmakers, including from his own party, over an overhaul to minerals policy that would make exporters pay royalties based on domestic stock prices, rather than international benchmarks used since 2021, which critics warned could hurt the national budget.

He also drew fire for appointing a justice minister without notifying parliament, which MPs said was unlawful.

The Mongolian president returned to Ulaanbaatar last Thursday after a state visit to India, where officials reached agreements in areas including oil and gas.