Mongolia parliament ousts prime minister after corruption allegations
No prime minister of Mongolia, a thinly populated and mineral-rich country sandwiched between Russia and China, has completed a four-year term since 2004
Mongolian parliamentarians voted Thursday to throw out the country’s prime minister and cabinet over allegations of corruption and abuse of power a little over a year after a landslide election victory by the ruling party.
Of 73 members of parliament attending the vote, 42 were in favour of removing Jargaltulgiin Erdenebat along with his 15 cabinet ministers.
A majority of the ruling Mongolia People’s Party (MPP) voted for the removal measure. The party now has 45 days to appoint a new PM.
Legislators accused Erdenebat of granting 800 billion tugrik (US$328 million) in concessions to eight companies related to his cabinet ministers, providing illegal cash allowances to voters and presenting a poor image to the public.
Erdenebat has fiercely denied the allegations and in a statement before the vote he lashed out against “Mongolia’s practice of ousting its cabinet”, which he said had been toxic to the “country’s development and poisons our economy”.
“Although, some of us point to foreign investments as economic killers, in reality we politicians are the internal killers of our economy and suffocate our own growth,” he said.