-- G.Zandanshar reappointed as speaker of Parliament --
On June 30, the first session of the new Parliament was opened and members took oath, in accordance with the decree issued by the president of Mongolia.
During the session, newly minted lawmakers agreed unanimously to reappoint G.Zandanshatar as speaker of Parliament.
At the opening of the session, President of Mongolia Kh.Battulga said, “You have won the trust of the people at a time of great responsibility for the country's economic and social development. I strongly urge you to be responsible and not to steal the opportunities of people of Mongolia. You must not act unethically or without principles.”
“The people are expecting the ruling party to make the right decision and come up with a solution to overcome the economic crisis facing the country and save jobs. I call on the opposition party for more understanding and cooperation than confrontation.”
“I would like to remind you that we need to change our election system and methodology. The Mongolian People's Party has won about 44 percent of the vote in two consecutive elections. This is a distortion of the system. There is also a requirement to amend the relevant laws to ensure that members of Parliament are more focused on initiating legislation and exercising parliamentary oversight on the executive branch. You must impose legal restrictions on former members of Parliament who are deeply involved in budget affairs to eliminate distortions in the allocation of funds, and to keep members away from the budget and money.”
“In the past, a total of 1,170 tenders were given to 27 members of Parliament, their affiliates, and associated legal entities.
According to the detailed figures of the members elected to Parliament in 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016, 42 members held one or more mining licenses through their affiliates and transferred them to others. Such unethical behavior should not come from you. You are the people who are supposed to represent and serve the people, not the people who take advantage of their faith to empower yourselves and increase your wealth by billions.”
“The General Election Commission (GEC) failed to fulfill its duty to provide information to the public during the election campaign. It should not be the case in the future. I demand that the leadership of the GEC resign immediately,” he said.
On the same day, the GEC presented the decision to confirm the elected candidates as members of Parliament to President Kh.Battulga.
As stated in the Act of Parliament, the parliamentary session was chaired by the oldest member of Parliament, Kh.Badyelkhan.
NEW PARLIAMENT RECEIVE CONFIRMATION
On June 29, 76 candidates who received the most votes in each of the 29 constituencies in the 2020 parliamentary election received their identification card as member of Parliament from the General Election Commission (GEC).
Chairman of the GEC Ch.Sodnomtseren said, “This election was successfully organized in accordance with the Constitution of
Mongolia, Law on Central Election Authority, Law on Elections of Mongolia, and Law on Automated Electoral System. In accordance with Articles 74.2 and 74.3 of the Law on Elections of Mongolia, the GEC summarized the results of the 2020 parliamentary election and discussed it during its meeting on June 25, and issued a resolution to provide identification
cards to 76 candidates who were elected in this election.”
RECOUNTING BALLOTS COST 71 MILLION MNT
On the same day, the GEC submitted the results and report of the country’s eigth legislative election to Speaker of Parliament
G.Zandanshatar.
Chairman of the GEC Ch.Sodnomtseren said that control census was conducted in 164 polling stations in 12 constituencies during the last weekend.
The preliminary results of the 2020 legislative election held on June 24 show that the ruling Mongolian People’s Party gained 62 seats, main opposition Democratic Party won 11 seats, and You Are Our Coalition and Right Person Voter Coalition each had one seat along with one independent candidate who assumed a seat in Parliament.
However, many independent candidates and coalitions that ran for election made claims on election fraud and unreliability of voting machines and had sought recounts. President Kh.Battulga instructed the GEC to conduct a control census on the results, double-checking the ballots to ensure the accuracy of the results.
Ch.Sodnomtseren said, “Control census was made in 164 polling stations in Uvurkhangai, Umnugobi, Dornod and Darkhan-Uul provinces and six districts of Ulaanbaatar, involving 2,447 public service officers and 645 observers from political parties, coalitions and independents, requiring additional cost of 71.3 million MNT.”
He also commented, “We found no discrepancy between the votes counted manually and through voting machines.”
After receiving their identification card, some members expressed their views. G.Damdinnyam, who was elected from Darkhan-Uul Province, said, “First of all, the construction of Darkhan-Ulaanbaatar road will be completed. We will also work on the principle of fairness. Members of Parliament must work together for the common good and values.”
T.Dorjkhand of Right Person Voter Coalition, elected from Khan-Uul District, noted that he intends to work with young people as a team during his time in office. “I hope to work in a strong opposition. There are many policy issues. For four years, I will be the voice of the youth,” he said.
