Enkhbold Miyegombo, a former presidential candidate and prime minister, has been under pressure to resign since a failed no-confidence vote against the current prime minister in November.

Five MPs had spearheaded calls for Enkhbold's resignation, leading a boycott of parliament that paralysed the legislature for a month.

Thousands of protesters gathered in December and January to vent their anger at corruption, bribery scandals and embezzlement of government funds.

Enkhbold has been accused of selling government positions, such as vice minister and state secretary, to raise at least 60 billion tugrik (US$24 million).

Earlier this month, President Khaltmaa Battulga - who defeated Enkhbold in the 2017 presidential election - introduced legislation to allow a vote to oust the speaker.

Political instability has been a constant problem for the young Central Asian democracy, which passed its first constitution in 1992 after decades of Communist rule.

Enkhbold said he had done his job "well" and that banking and financial regulations passed under his watch had helped the economy.

"You can see that all the bad things that happened in the past 20 years can be blamed on just one person," Enkhbold said.

"Maybe to solve all the problems in today's society I was to become the scapegoat," he said.