Mongolian Leader Removed Four Months After Taking Office
Mongolia’s parliament voted over the weekend to remove Prime Minister Zandanshatar Gombojav from office after only four months in power, marking the second time in less than a year that a Mongolian leader has been forced out amid corruption scandals and public discontent, Al Jazeera reported.
On Friday, lawmakers approved Zandanshatar’s dismissal after 50 legislators had submitted a motion accusing him of constitutional violations and poor governance.
The lawmakers said the prime minister appointed a new justice and home affairs minister without parliamentary approval, accusing him of violating the separation of powers.
They also criticized him for comments seen as interfering in an ongoing investigation, and for economic reforms that allegedly distorted competition among mineral exporters.
Zandanshatar’s removal came around the same time lawmakers accepted the resignation of parliamentary speaker Amarbayasgalan Dashzegve. The speaker had offered to resign a day earlier after members of the Mongolian People’s Party – of which Zandanshatar and Amarbayasgalan are both members – called for a probe into the speaker, Reuters added.
President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa is expected to nominate a new prime minister, whose appointment must be approved by parliament.
Zandanshatar’s tenure as Mongolia’s 32nd prime minister began in June, shortly after the resignation of his predecessor Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai.
Luvsannamsrai resigned in June after also losing parliamentary support amid mass protests sparked by corruption allegations and public anger over elite privilege.
Observers warned that the back-to-back removal of two prime ministers could deepen political instability in the resource-rich country.
Mongolia – a landlocked nation of 3.3 million people sandwiched between China and Russia – has long struggled with corruption, economic inequality, and overreliance on coal exports.
The World Bank this month cut its 2025 growth forecast to 5.9 percent from 6.3 percent, citing falling coal prices and global trade uncertainty.
Last year, Mongolia’s gross domestic product grew 4.9 percent.
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