Opinion | Mongolia’s PM has kept his job, but the country is reeling from fraud and political turmoil
- PM Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh has survived a vote of no confidence, but only by making difficult bargains among his party and the opposition
- The fallout from a scandal involving a national SME fund continues to spread in the resource-rich nation
Friday’s vote of no confidence was initiated by the Prime Minister’s own party, the Mongolian People’s Party (MPP). Despite the MPP’s 85 per cent majority in Mongolia’s 76-member parliament, the Ikh Hural, he survived the vote with only 40 parliamentarians voting in his favour and 33 against. This factional public infighting is unprecedented for the MPP, a party long seen as a disciplined and united force compared with the rival Democratic Party (DP).
This vote comes on the heels of a scandal involving 14 parliamentarians, two cabinet members, and other high-ranking officials who channelled more than US$1 million in government funds to their family and friends. The money was intended for the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are crucial to the country’s development, as it tries to move away from its reliance on mineral resource exports.
The Khurelsukh vote followed 10 hours of intense debate, where the 27 MPP members who revolted against their party demanded the Prime Minister step down for failing to provide repercussions for implicated politicians.
In a fierce defence, Khurelsukh declared the vote a ploy by MANAN – the Mongolian word for “fog”, which is also an acronym combining the Mongolian abbreviations for the MPP and the DP. MANAN refers to what Khurelsukh and others have described as Mongolia’s “30 families”, an elite group he claims controls both parties.