Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene’s resignation follows days of protests calling for his ouster over inequality, corruption, and rising living costs.
Reports of lavish spending by PM Oyun-Erdene’s son fueled the protestersImage: Ng Han Guan/AP/picture alliance
Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene resigned on Tuesday after failing to secure enough support in a confidence vote, a parliamentary statement said.
It comes after weeks of public protests against allegations of corruption.
Oyun-Erdene received just 44 votes in the 126-seat parliament, well below the 64 needed to remain in office.
Following the declaration of the results, Oyun-Erdene said: “It was an honor to serve my country and people in times of difficulties, including pandemics, wars, and tariffs.”
He will remain a caretaker role until a successor is appointed within 30 days.
Prior to the vote, Oyun-Erdene has warned that the confidence motion could cause instability and posed a threat to democracy in the country.
“If governance becomes unstable, the economic situation deteriorates, and political parties cannot come to consensus. It could lead the public to lose faith in parliamentary rule and potentially put our democratic parliamentary system at risk of collapse,” he said.
Formerly communist Mongolia adopted democracy after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Last month, Oyun-Erdene’s Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) expelled the Democratic Party (DP) from the ruling coalition after some of its younger lawmakers backed calls for the prime minister’s resignation.
