Mongolia’s parliamentary chairman, Enkhbold Myegombo, has been ousted following weeks of public protests against him over accusations that he was involved in the corrupt sale of government positions.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets late last month to protest against Enkhbold and the two main political parties, the Mongolian People’s Party and the Democratic Party.
Public unrest has simmered throughout this month, with a cross-party group of legislators boycotting parliament, the State Great Khural. Some protesters began hunger strikes on Ulan Bator’s central Sukhbaatar Square on Jan. 10.
Photo: Reuters
The role of foreign investment in resource-rich Mongolia’s development has also come under scrutiny, with many nationalist politicians complaining that strategic assets have been sold off to foreign firms on the cheap.
Enkhbold denied accusations of corruption and declined to resign, but parliament voted in favor of forcing his dismissal late on Tuesday in a procedure initiated by Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga, who defeated Enkhbold in a 2017 election.
“I was not playing tricks to save my position. I believed this problem should be solved legally,” Enkhbold said, adding that the dismissal procedure undermined parliamentary democracy.
He could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Audio recordings released last year by a whistleblower were believed to implicate a number of politicians in a scheme aimed at raising 60 billion tugrik (US$22.82 million at today’s exchange rate) in campaign funds for the 2016 Mongolian parliamentary elections, which were won by the Mongolian People’s Party.
Five members of parliament have led efforts against Enkhbold and the two parties, and they on Monday announced they had formed a group called “Wealth Owner Mongolia” that would fight against corruption and nationalize mines of “strategic” importance.
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