On January 25, the Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) caucus in Parliament rejected the president’s partial veto of the amended Law on Anti-Corruption.
Chairman of the MPP caucus D.Togtokhsuren said, “The head of the Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC) was previously appointed by Parliament for a six-year term at the nomination of the president. In accordance with the constitutional amendments of 2019, the head of the IAAC will be nominated by the prime minister, and Parliament will hold a hearing to confirm the appointment. This provision was vetoed by the president. The IAAC deputy head was previously nominated by the president, but now the IAAC head will nominate the deputy head.”
“The MPP caucus cannot accept the president's veto. There are two reasons not to accept it. First, it was amended in accordance with the Constitution of Mongolia. In particular, Article 33 of the Constitution was amended in 2019. The amendment stipulates that the president can be empowered by law within the scope of his or her powers set forth in Article 33 of the Constitution. Article 33 sets out eight functions. The Constitution stipulates that the president can not be assigned anything other than the eight stated functions. Second, the Constitution states that only the government has the responsibility to fight and prevent crime.”
“The president also partially vetoed the Law on Courts, the Law on Administrative and Territorial Units and Their Management of Mongolia, and related laws. The MPP caucus did not accept these vetoes,” he added.
Noting that the Law on Administrative and Territorial Units and Their Management of Mongolia reflects the issues that have been discussed for many years, evaluating the shortcomings of the Constitution over the last 28 years, lawmaker J.Sukhbaatar said, “The local government system and executive power were said to be weak during the constitutional amendment. In other words, it was concluded that there is a problem with the central government's management, accountability and appointment system. Therefore, in order to increase the role of the central government, the direct appointment of province and capital city mayors and the establishment of a vertical management system were supported.”
DP supports Constitutional Court conclusion
The Democratic Party (DP) caucus in Parliament on Monday supported Conclusion No. 02 of the Constitutional Court.
During its meeting on January 20, the Constitutional Court ruled that some provisions of the Law on Allowances for Single Mothers and Fathers with Many Children violate the relevant provisions of the Constitution of Mongolia.
In particular, the law provides for childcare allowances exclusively for mothers who are caring for a child under the age of three. The court considered that this limits access to benefits for fathers caring for their children in the same circumstances, and creates gender-based discrimination for parents caring for their children. The court also noted that such welfare exclusively for women will push them toward stereotypical gender roles.
The DP caucus also did not support the president’s veto on the amended Law on Anti-Corruption. The caucus stated that Parliament should discuss the draft resolution on special measures to overcome the impoverishment and social and economic difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic as a matter of urgency.
On January 8, President Kh.Battulga submitted a draft parliamentary resolution to distribute a stimulus of 1 million MNT to all families from funds collected through seizure of illegal offshore accounts.
In addition, the appointment of the prime minister was discussed. Chairman of the DP caucus D.Ganbat said, “It is impossible to support L.Oyun-Erdene. He was chief Cabinet Secretariat in the previous government. It is unethical to appoint the former Chief Cabinet Secretariat L.Oyun-Erdene as prime minister, despite the resignation of Cabinet.”
