President of Mongolia Kh.Battulga delivered a speech at the opening of regular spring session of Parliament on April 6.
Kh.Battulga mentioned timely matters concerning the coronavirus spread and necessary precautions.
“The calls for precautions need to be re-explained to you. The world's leading countries have acknowledged that the coronavirus pandemic is the biggest challenge since World War II. It is not a temporary epidemic like seasonal flu, but a dangerous pandemic that requires enduring and persistent fight. I hope that everyone is aware that countries have prepared for it.”
Highlighting the economic crisis of the world economy due to the coronavirus pandemic, President Kh.Battulga mentioned that 10,000 people lost their jobs, resulting in the fall of income for 40,000 people in Mongolia.
“Our nation must be prepared to deal with the imminent crisis due to COVID-19 pandemic. As the president of Mongolia, I called on policymakers to immediately formulate, plan and implement a package of precautions for overcoming the crisis with minimum losses,” he said.
President Kh.Battulga warned politicians of taking unlawful acts with aims to succeed in the upcoming elections.
President’s precautionary measures for overcoming crisis
First, make clarifications on the state budget by distributing funds to measures for protecting income of the people, saving jobs, restricting the coronavirus outbreak, and ensuring smooth operation of the health care, through cutting all nonessential costs.
The president noted that if 50 percent of the state budget is spent, the state budget needs to be amended.
Second, postpone the regular parliamentary elections. If the election is held on time, there will be severe risks, the president warns.
During election campaign and voting, gatherings will become unavoidable. The World Health Organization has repeatedly warned Mongolia that if the coronavirus outbreak is out of control and the number of cases rises sharply in Mongolia, the health care system, personnel, medicines and medical supplies is inadequate to deal with it.
There is also a risk of low voter turnout. Voter turnout will be immediately reduced if active voters avoid risk and do not vote.
The legitimacy of the election results will diminish in Mongolia and abroad. This can lead to rejection of the election results, social unrest, and widespread protests, he warned.
Third, establish an anti-crisis fund to promote enterprises and businesses to overcome the crisis in short span of time, and formulate associated rules and regulations.
Most of the measures proposed by the government have been criticized as ineffective, the president claimed.
The current seven proposals have been criticized as a program that supports only 10 percent of entities. Moreover, only 10 percent of the 770,000 social insurance premium payers will be exempted, based on the criteria, he said.
Fourth, develop an action plan for ensuring sustainable living environment for all, especially for children, improve welfare, reduce unemployment, buffer its impact on people’s livelihoods, and ensure abundant supply of consumer goods.
President mentioned that I call for Parliament and the Government to make decisions on stockpiling wheat and essential medicines.
Fifth, call a National Security Council meeting to immediately establish a compact and skillful body, comprising academics and specialists, to prepare for and overcome the coming crisis, while eliminating ineffective expenditure of resources.
“Optimizing and centralizing public administration in times of crisis is a long-standing method of history, not a means of dictatorship. I suggested these measures to overcome the coming crisis with minimal risks,” said the president.
President Kh.Battulga called for the people to remain disciplined, organized and be in solidarity under centralized administration to overcome the current hardships.
Spring session in brief
The 2020 spring session of Parliament opened with attendance of 70 percent of the total 75 members on April 6.
This is the last session of the current Parliament ahead of the upcoming legislative election on June 24, and its sittings and voting process will be conducted via a video conference in an effort to maintain social distancing due to the COVID-19
pandemic.
During the declaration of heightened state of readiness nationwide, members of Parliament will attend plenary and standing committee meetings either in five separate halls, adhering to a rule of not gathering greater than 20 lawmakers in one place, or via video conference.
The opening meeting was physically attended by President of Mongolia Kh.Battulga and Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh, with heads of government organizations, foreign diplomatic missions and international organizations taking part via video conference.
In his remarks opening the parliamentary spring session, Speaker of Parliament G.Zandanshatar thanked the people of Mongolia for responsibly fulfilling their civic duties by complying with measures and rules adopted by the government to
prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from spreading in the country.
After mentioning about the government’s steps to alleviate the economic impacts of the novel coronavirus pandemic, such as tax breaks, additional welfare allowance to children, low-interest loans to cashmere companies, loan repayment deferrals, gradual fuel price drop, Speaker G.Zandanshatar assured that there is enough supply of food products, as well as face masks and disinfectant products at this time of crisis.
“The spring session will discuss, in order of priority, a number of legislation that will give life to the recent amendments to the Constitution of Mongolia, which will perfect a system of government that is responsible, stable, citizen-centered, and fair
and just,” the speaker said.
In conclusion, the speaker called for the legislative body of the state of Mongolia to be guided by understanding, harmony and moral growth to show ideal collaboration throughout its spring session.
