Mongolian PM Survives No-Confidence Vote Over Economic Policies
- Majority backs Saikhanbileg, giving mandate to rule until June
- Vote defends Mongolia's $4.4 billion Oyu Tolgoi mine expansion
This article is for subscribers only.
Mongolian Prime Minister Saikhanbileg Chimed has survived a no confidence vote over his handling of the economy, setting him up to rule through summer elections.
Forty-two lawmakers in the 76-seat Great Hural voted in support of Saikhanbileg, with 31 against. A five-hour debate concluded in the early hours of Friday. A group of 19 MPs had filed a petition alleging that Saikhanbileg’s May authorization of Rio Tinto Group’s development of the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine constituted an abuse of power, offering little benefit to Mongolian citizens, delaying dividends and increasing the state’s debt burden.