After weeks of political turmoil Mongolia’s parliament, the State Great Hural, approved the appointment of Zandanshatar Gombojav as the 34th prime minister of Mongolia. With a new leader in the executive branch, and a second coalition government, the country is bracing for a transitional period, marked by changes in the government’s agenda and goals.
Zandanshatar has been in politics since 2004, holding posts such as foreign minister, chief of the Cabinet Secretariat, and speaker of the parliament. Mongolia’s new prime minister was an appointee from the ruling Mongolian People’s Party (MPP). He ultimately decided to establish another coalition government – but this time, the Democratic Party, the MPP’s long-time rival, is not included. The DP, which was ousted from the previous coalition due to its perceived support for the protests against then-Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamrai, will remain in opposition in the parliament.
Mongolia’s new coalition government thus comprises multiple parties, but it is slightly different from the Oyun-Erdene government. The second coalition only kept a few ministers from the previous administration; most are new appointees. In total, the Cabinet includes 17 members from MPP, two from the HUN Party, and one from Civil-Will Green Party.
During the new government’s confirmation hearings, parliamentary members raised concerns over the reappointment of ministers from the previous coalition to the new Cabinet. Some ministers voluntarily decided not to be retain office. Nomin Chinbat of the MPP – Oyun-Erdene’s minister for culture, sports, tourism, and youth – made a public statement that she will not be working for the new government. In her social media post, Nomin highlighted her ministry’s success in registering historical sites with UNESCO and launching Mongolia’s tourism brand, “Go Mongolia,” as a mechanism to combine culture, tradition, and tourism.
Odontuya Saldan of the DP, the previous minister of environment and climate change, is also not continuing in the new government. Odontuya’s ministry played an important role in attracting investment in renewable energy, climate change, and green and sustainable development. One notable action is approving research on environmental impacts on the Eg River Hydropower Plant. With second coalition government coming into picture, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change will continue to prepare for hosting COP17 of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification next year in Mongolia.
The reshuffling of the Cabinet required a close-up assessment. A blanket replacement of every minister would carry the risk of major disruptions to government priorities.
Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh will continue in her post. The minister of agriculture and light industry as well as the energy minster will also remain in office. Uchral Nyam-Osor, ex-minister of digital development and communications, will now serve as both deputy prime minister and minister for economy and development.
The Zandanshatar government will maintain 16 ministries but will dissolve some projects from the Oyun-Erdene government’s New Revival Policy. For example, it is scrapping the 20-Minute City initiative, which aimed to solve the horrid congestion of Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar. The Ports Revival Project and Committee on National Monitoring and Evaluation will also be dissolved.
Moreover, newly appointed Minister of Finance Javkhlan Bold announced austerity measures to cut government spending by 535 billion Mongolia tugrik ($150 million). His ministry is also looking into reducing an additional 1.8 trillion tugrik in operations cost alone. The dissolving of the previous government’s projects will help reduce government spending. At the same time, whether these funds will be allocated to different ministries and other projects is yet to be determined.
While considering Zandanshatar’s government is a new coalition that needs to maintain political cordiality between the political parties, as evidenced by the decision to have three deputy prime ministers: not only Uchral of the MPP but also Amarsaikhan Sainbuyangiin (MPP) and Dorjkhand Togmid (HUN Party). In the decades since establishing its democracy, Mongolia has typically had just one deputy prime minister.
In Mongolia’s second coalition government, the power sharing and patronage aspects seem to be more prevalent, especially within the MPP. These elements might keep the coalition functioning, but it neither makes government efficient nor strengthens operations. To many Mongolians, having multiple deputy prime ministers is waste of taxpayer money, although it may also function as a check-and-balance mechanism.
After weeks of political uncertainty, the Mongolian executive branch is back on its feet. Although the coalition government did not reduce the number ministries, it is pledging to be both financially responsible and accountable to the public, especially considering how the previous government was ousted.
The second coalition will need to prioritize energy reform. Dorjkhand is likely to continue his work and focus on the energy sector as before.
With new ministers coming into office, some agendas may change but large bilateral projects – such as the India-Mongolia oil refinery, France-Mongolia uranium deal, China-Mongolia-Russia Power of Siberia II pipeline, and the China-Mongolia Erdeneburen power plant – will likely be pursued without disruption. In implementing these mega-projects, Mongolia’s foreign policy and third neighbors will play a key role.