Mongolia dissolves govt after protests

Mongolia’s parliament dissolved its government early today after the biggest political party pulled out of the 15-month-old ruling coalition, prompting two days of protests amid complaints about poverty and corruption.

No party immediately announced that it would try to form a new government following the vote to dissolve the government of prime minister Tsakhilganiin Elbegdorj. Elbegdorj was appointed to lead an interim administration.

But the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party, which announced on Wednesday it was pulling out of the coalition, said earlier it would try to form its own government. The MPRP led Mongolia under communism until 1990, when it ended one-party rule after street protests.

The party complained that Elbegdorj, a former pro-democracy activist, failed to do enough to fight corruption and worsening poverty in the former Soviet satellite.

The sparsely populated nation of 2.5 million people sandwiched between Russia and China has struggled with a steep economic slide since launching radical free-market reforms in the 1990s.

The MPRP’s decision to leave the coalition prompted a protest by its opponents, who temporarily occupied the party headquarters on Thursday, accusing its leaders of trying to seize power.

MPRP members staged a counter-demonstration yesterday in support of the party, demanding that Elbegdorj resign.

Elbegdorj did not say whether he would try to form a new government.

“I have done my best as prime minister of Mongolia. I trust that the legacy of my government will enrich the heritage of Mongolian governance,” he said.

MPRP leaders had agreed to reconsider their decision following the protests, but the vote in parliament still went ahead.

Parliament voted 39-0 to dissolve the government after 37 members of the 76-seat body left before the vote. Twenty members of Elbegdorj’s Democratic Party walked out in protest, but five Democrats remained and voted for the dissolution. The legislature’s lone Republican and one of its two independents also voted for the dissolution.

The MPRP has 38 seats in parliament, just one short of the minimum 39 required to form a government.

The uneasy ruling coalition was formed in 2004 following disputed legislative elections in which the MPRP and its rivals accused each other of vote fraud and other abuses.

The capital Ulan Bator has been the scene of repeated protests over poverty, corruption and complaints about land reform.

Most Mongolians get by on the equivalent of a few hundred dollars a year. Many are traditional sheep and cattle herders on the vast Mongolian steppe.

The MPRP and its partners have squabbled over government posts and proposed changes to laws on mineral rights in a country where mining for copper and other resources is a major part of the economy.