Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai has resigned after failing a confidence vote in parliament amid public outcry over allegations of his son’s extravagant lifestyle.
The vote, which took place in Ulaanbaatar, saw him reportedly receive only 44 of the 64 votes necessary to maintain his position, according to Politico. Oyun-Erdene will stay in office until parliament elects his replacement, The Associated Press (AP) reported. The allegations against his son sparked widespread protests across Mongolia, where citizens are increasingly frustrated by economic issues.
The scandal erupted after images surfaced allegedly showing Oyun-Erdene’s son and the son’s significant other enjoying a lavish engagement trip and flaunting luxurious items like a Dior handbag, according to the BBC. People questioned how the prime minister’s family could allegedly pay for such extravagance. Local media reported that Mongolia’s anti-corruption body was already investigating the finances of Oyun-Erdene’s family. (RELATED: Justin Trudeau Announces Resignation)
Prior to parliament’s vote, Oyun-Erdene warned that his ouster might cause instability, Politico reported. “If governance becomes unstable, the economic situation deteriorates, and political parties cannot come to consensus. It could lead the public to lose faith in parliamentary rule and potentially put our democratic parliamentary system at risk of collapse,” Oyun-Erdene said.
Oyun-Erdene, having served for four years, claimed corruption accusations were a smear campaign, according to the BBC. Transparency International ranked Mongolia 114th out of 180 countries for government transparency, a lower ranking than where the country was before the prime minister took office.
Retired military member Gansukh Batbayar praised Oyun-Erden’s anti-corruption efforts and said he was not guilty for his son’s alleged actions, the AP reported. Batbayar lauded him for what he claimed was confiscating “illegally earned assets and money of corrupt officials” and redistributing them.
Mongolia threw off the Communist yoke following the Cold War and has since struggled to function democratically while facing powerful Chinese and Russian interests. Erin Murphy from the Center for Strategic and International Studies noted that the country’s economic difficulties hampered its political development.
