One day past the President’s requested date for summoning Irregular Parliamentary Session, there’s no sign of a gathering. A number of MPs are working at their constituencies, whereas some express readiness to participate in case the session is summoned. President of Mongolia Battulga Khaltmaa sent an official letter requesting to summon irregular session of parliament on July 30, following the same request by 26 Members of the Parliament. The requests are based on Section 3 of Article 25 of the Constitution of Mongolia, Section 1 of Article 12 of the Law of Mongolia on President and Section 3 of Article 16 of the Law of Mongolia on the State Great Khural.

The letter said, “26 Members of the State Great Khural sent an official letter about “summoning the Parliament for an irregular session regarding the nullification of the Parliament’s 7th Resolution, issued on July 8th, 2016, in consideration of the incompetence of Kh.Enkhjargal, General Director of the Independent Authority Against Corruption, in carrying out the legally bound duties of the government body, which is designated to combat corruption, given that major corruption cases such as ‘the MNT 60 billion’ subside after reaching the Independent Authority Against Corruption”.

Working group conclusion on OT investment agreement among issues to be discussed
Chairman of the State Great Khural Enkhbold Miyegombo replied to the first letter sent by the President, saying, that the date of the irregular Parliamentary session will be set after the corresponding Standing Committee discusses the agenda of the session. In the 12 days since the letter was sent on July 19, and the President requested the date set on July 30 in a separate letter, the Standing Committee had not convened. There’s also growing controversy around what issues should be discussed, but most MPs expressed that they agree on the need for the irregular session to be summoned and the abundance of issues that needed to be discussed even before the spring session ended. The so-called “MNT 60 billion” case continues to be highly debated among politicians.

The ruling Mongolian People’s Party announced on Monday that it will focus on its members’ ethics, saying that the debate around the case is creating havoc within the party. Member of Parliament Baasankhuu Oktyabri previously said the ZGM Daily that the conclusions made by the Parliament’s working group on Oyu Tolgoi’s Investment agreement and the project’s benefits on Mongolia need to be discussed, and shouldn’t wait for the fall session. Several fatal accidents took place killing at least three children. The continued heavy rains causing damage to road and bridges, costing human lives in some areas are issues that need the Parliament’s attention, MPs are saying. Member of Parliament Bold Luvsanvandan told the ZGM Daily on Monday that he expects the Irregular Session to convene this week. Sources say that the Speaker’s staff started contacting MPs to learn their locations. Irregular session may take place in case there are sufficient number of MPs in Ulaanbaatar city.

Published Date:2018-08-01