Mongolia PM Resignation

The Prime Minister of Mongolia resigned after the photos of social media in the sumptuous lifestyle of his son sparked an anti-corruption investigation and weeks of mass demonstrations.

Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, who denied reprehensible acts, lost confidence in Parliament on Tuesday.

The viral photos claim to show the son of Oyun-Erdene and the girlfriend of the son displaying a black shoulder bag and several provisions during their engagement holidays.

The demonstrators wondered how the Oyun-Erdene family could offer such a luxurious life. Local media reported that the country’s anti-corruption organization had examined their finances.

The photo of the Dior bag, which would have been published by the girlfriend, had the legend: “Happy birthday to me”. Another photo allegedly showed that the couple kissed in a swimming pool.

The images were shared on social networks and published by local media.

During Tuesday’s confidence vote, 44 of the 88 legislators who participated in the secret ballot voted for Oyun-Erdene, while 38 others voted against him. He needed the support of at least 64 of the 126 members of the Parliament.

“It was an honor to serve my country and people in times of difficulty, including pandemics, wars and prices,” he said after the vote.

Hundreds of demonstrators, many of whom have been down the streets for two weeks before the vote, demanding the resignation of Oyun-Erdene.

Oyun-Erdene rejected allegations of corruption, accusing criticism of launching a defamation campaign against him.

According to Transparency International, Mongolia has seen corruption worse since Oyun-Erdene came to power. Last year, it was ranked 114th out of 180 countries in terms of government transparency.

A former communist state sandwiched between Russia and China, Mongolia has been going to democracy since the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.

Corruption is a persistent problem. Last year, American prosecutors sought to lose Former Mongol PM Sukhbaatar Batbold’s two New York apartments that he would have bought using stolen mining funds.

Batbold, which served from 2012 to 2015, denied the reprehensible acts.

In recent years, Mongolia has sought to establish closer ties with the West, counting the United States and European countries as part of its “third neighbor” foreign policy.