Latest news with #Luvsannamsrai
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Designer handbags and diamond rings bring down Mongolian PM
Mongolia's prime minister has resigned in ignominy after photos of his son's lavish lifestyle were plastered across social media, sparking weeks of protests. Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai lost a vote of no confidence after a corruption investigation into his family's sources of wealth was launched. Mr Luvsannamsrai's 23-year-old son Temuulen showered his fiancee with gifts, including Chanel and Dior handbags worth thousands of pounds, and a diamond ring. For weeks, frustration towards the prime minister mounted as Mongolians struggled to understand how the son of a civil servant who earns less than £20,000 a year could afford such gifts. In an ostentatious show of wealth, pictures on social media appeared to showed Temuulen's fiancee with a MiuMiu blazer worth nearly £4,000, bags of goods from Canada Goose, a luxury winter wear clothing store, and her behind the wheel of a £40,000 Volvo. The fiance, named as Uguumur, has since deleted all the posts on her Instagram account. Temuulen was also reportedly enrolled in a language programme at Harvard University, which costs around ￡6,000. He has reportedly been recalled since the protests. 'With no visible sources of income, their display of luxury bags, private travel, and high-end living was a blatant slap in the face to the average Mongolian citizen,' Amina, a 28-year-old member of the Ogtsroh Amarhan (Resigning is Easy) protest group, told CNN. Mongolia is a landlocked country with a population of only 3.5 million, nestled between China and Russia. The minimum wage is around £160 a month, and there is a cost of living crisis. For years, the country's economy has been hugely dependent on Russia for energy and China for commerce. The current government coalition, elected last July and led by Luvsannamsrai, had tried to establish greater relations with the West, but little came of it. Against this backdrop, it was not surprising that Uguumur's posts quickly went viral and began sparking questions around corruption, which both father and son deny. In a statement, the prime minister's office called the allegations of financial impropriety 'completely unfounded'. Mongolia currently ranks 114 out of 180 on the Corruptions Perceptions Index, with a very low score of 33 per cent, and for decades the country has dealt with corrupt officials and wealthy business leaders enriching themselves with public funds. With Mr Luvsannamsrai and his family, many Mongolians thought history was repeating itself. More than 58,000 people signed a petition calling for him to step down and hundreds took to the streets in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, shouting slogans that reflected a lack of trust in the government. Mr Luvsannamsrai claimed only that he was 'dedicating too much time to major projects while paying insufficient attention to social and internal political matters'. Analysts have said there is no evidence of corruption by Mr Luvsannamsrai, and he and his son have submitted themselves to Mongolia's anti-corruption agency – but the protests were enough for the prime minister to call a vote of no confidence on Monday. He received only 44 of the 64 votes he needed to maintain his position, and resigned shortly afterwards. While Mongolia has been a parliamentary democracy since 1991, over the years many governments have been toppled, leading to calls for constitutional changes that would enable more stability. Shortly before the vote on Monday, Mr Luvsannamsrai echoed some of these concerns, noting that his country's democracy was still fragile. '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,' he said. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mongolia's prime minister resigns after losing vote of confidence
WASHINGTON — Mongolia 's prime minister resigned early Tuesday after he failed to receive enough support in a vote of confidence in parliament, Mongolian media reported. The country's embassy in Washington confirmed it. Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai received 44 votes, well short of the 64 needed, according to news site The vote followed weeks of protests sparked by reports of lavish spending by the prime minister's son. Some called for the prime minister to step down. Before the vote, Oyun-Erdene warned that the vote could lead to instability and shake Mongolia's fledgling democracy. '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,' he said. He defended his integrity but acknowledged a mistake: 'dedicating too much time to major projects while paying insufficient attention to social and internal political matters.' Oyun-Erdene had held the post for four years and survived previous calls to step down. Last year, parliament was enlarged from 76 seats to 126 following electoral reforms. It resulted in a coalition government. Landlocked between Russia and China, Mongolia has struggled to become more democratic after its party-state era. A communist state during the Cold War, it has been transforming into a democracy since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Protesters have said the country's mineral riches have benefited business interests and the wealthy, while many Mongolians still live in poverty. 'It's very difficult to build that foundation for democracy' at a time that Mongolia also must tackle economic problems, which are a major source of people's frustration, said Erin Murphy, deputy director and senior fellow of India and emerging Asian economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 'We still have to see what happens next and how the new government plans to tackle these issues,' she said. While democracy is yet to thrive in Mongolia, 'it is taking root,' Murphy said.
