During its plenary session on April 8, Parliament rejected the president’s partial veto of the Parliamentary Resolution No. 31 on appointment and exemption of member of the Constitutional Court.

The president vetoed the exemption of member of the court Sh.Tsogtoo, stating that when the court nominates the next member, it must clearly state to Parliament which member to exempt.

During the session, Head of the President’s Office U.Shijir introduced the president’s veto. He noted, “The president believes that Parliament has arbitrarily approached the establishment of the Constitutional Court, which should be the guarantor of the Constitution, appointed an dismissed the court’s members, exercising rights not granted by the Constitution and other laws.”

The Democratic Party (DP) caucus in Parliament expressed that the president’s veto should be accepted.

Some lawmakers also expressed their views on the veto. In particular, independent legislator N.Altankhuyag said, “Since the Mongolian People’s Party announced that it will have a president on its 100th anniversary, there has been a process of violating the law. Now the party is involved in the issue of members of the Constitutional Court. Appointments should not be robbed. Be ethical.”

Parliamentarian S.Byambatsogt noted that there is no violation of the law, and the appointment was made in accordance with the law. If the president’s veto is accepted, the court will have 10 members, he said.

“The president has the prerogative to participate in appointment of members of the Constitutional Court. We did not seize the president’s power. DP members are saying something that can be understood that way. There is nothing wrong with the president. The president has the right to demand and control,” lawmaker J.Sukhbaatar said.

Emphasizing that two provisions that were not discussed by the standing committee were submitted directly to Parliament, legislator B.Purevdorj said that this violated the Law on Parliamentary Procedure.

Ch.Khurelbaatar said, “There is a need to stop influencing the Constitutional Court. This presidential veto cannot be accepted.”

“Today’s issue is being entangled with the upcoming presidential election. Due to the lack of legal provisions, the appointment of the court member lasted more than a year. It is said that a member of the court who supports DP was relieve. There should be no political party influence in the court,” member N.Enkhbold noted.

During the session, Parliament also discussed the draft revision of the Law on Cooperatives, and lawmakers expressed their views.

N.Altankhuyag noted that there are about 400 herder cooperatives in Mongolia, and professionals need to be involved in preparation of the draft revision.

“In accordance with the draft revision, a herder cooperative will have its own assets. Assets of its members will be registered in the name of cooperative. This will allow cooperatives to borrow from commercial banks. Arrangements to exempt value-added tax from services of a cooperative that serves its members are included in the law. Cooperatives need to be supported by government policy,” legislator S.Chinzorig said.