Post by : Rameen Ariff

Photo : Reuters

Mongolia’s Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai resigned early Tuesday after he did not get enough support in a vote of confidence in the country’s parliament. The Mongolian embassy in Washington also confirmed the news.

Oyun-Erdene received only 44 votes, but he needed at least 64 to stay in office, according to the news website ikon.mn.

The vote came after weeks of protests. People were angry because reports said the prime minister’s son was spending money in a very flashy and wasteful way. Many protesters demanded that the prime minister step down.

Before the vote, Oyun-Erdene warned that if the vote did not go well, it could cause problems for Mongolia’s young democracy. He said if the government becomes unstable, the economy might get worse, and political groups might not agree with each other. This could make people lose trust in the country’s parliamentary system and might even threaten the future of democracy in Mongolia.

Oyun-Erdene said he is honest and has done his best but admitted he made a mistake. He said he spent too much time focusing on big projects and did not pay enough attention to social issues and politics inside the country.

He had been the prime minister for four years and had survived earlier attempts to remove him from office.

Last year, Mongolia’s parliament increased the number of seats from 76 to 126 after new election rules were introduced. This change created a coalition government, meaning different political parties work together.

Mongolia is a landlocked country located between Russia and China. It was a communist country during the Cold War but has been trying to build a democratic government since the Soviet Union collapsed.

Many protesters say that the country’s rich mineral resources have mostly helped business people and wealthy individuals. At the same time, many Mongolians still live in poverty.

Erin Murphy, who is an expert on economics in Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said it is very hard to build a strong democracy in Mongolia. She also said the country has many economic problems, which make people upset.

“We need to wait and see what the new government will do to solve these problems,” Murphy said.

Although democracy in Mongolia is still new and faces challenges, Murphy believes it is starting to grow and develop.