Mongolia names new prime minister following stalemate in Parliament
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Mongolia's new Prime Minister Uchral Nyam-Osor is congratulated by members of Parliament after his appointment in Ulaanbaatar, on March 30.
PHOTO: AFP
BEIJING - Mongolia’s Parliament on March 30 confirmed Mr Uchral Nyam-Osor as the nation’s third prime minister in nine months, following his predecessor’s resignation last week over strife within the ruling Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) and a legislative stalemate.
During a parliamentary session on March 30, 88 out of 107 lawmakers voted to appoint Mr Uchral to the coal-rich country’s No. 2 post, after the 39-year-old vowed to trim the bureaucracy and stabilise import prices, the official Montsame news agency reported on March 31.
The outgoing prime minister, Mr Zandanshatar Gombojav, resigned on March 27, a move analysts say was a compromise to resolve a boycott of the parliamentary session by the opposition Democratic Party and a faction within the ruling MPP over the past two weeks.
Mr Zandanshatar assumed the post in June 2025 after Mr Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene was ousted following corruption allegations that erupted into street protests.
Despite the leadership change, political volatility and the impasse in parliament are unlikely to be quickly resolved.
“There is deep animosity between the ruling party and the opposition, divide among factions within a party, and endless corruption that stokes public discontent,” said Mr Xu Tianchen, a senior analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit.
With a highly competitive presidential election scheduled for June 2027, “everyone wants to get an edge in the run up to the ballot”, Mr Xu said.
“Stability is the last thing you can expect from Mongolian politics,” he added.
Formerly a Cabinet member and deputy prime minister, Mr Uchral had been serving as the country’s speaker of parliament, as well as the MPP’s chairman, before his appointment on March 30.
While Mr Uchral has been regarded by some as a consensus figure with a pro-market, pro-reform agenda, underlying economic woes and government instability are likely to continue deterring foreign investment and delaying the structural reforms needed to wean the country off its reliance on mining.
“The overarching policy theme focusing on expanding mining exports will stay unchanged,” said Mr Xu.
“But I'm not sure if foreign investors will buy into his policies after so many political dramas over the past 12 months,” he added. REUTERS
