Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ULAANBAATAR434
2007-07-26 08:06:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Cable title:
Mongolian Government Survives Confidence Vote, Opposition
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UNCLAS ULAANBAATAR 000434
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O.12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON EMIN MG
SUBJECT: Mongolian Government Survives Confidence Vote, Opposition
Walks Out
Sensitive But Unclassified -- Not for Internet Distribution.
UNCLAS ULAANBAATAR 000434
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O.12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON EMIN MG
SUBJECT: Mongolian Government Survives Confidence Vote, Opposition
Walks Out
Sensitive But Unclassified -- Not for Internet Distribution.
1. (U) Mongolia's coalition government easily survived a no
confidence vote on July 24, winning the vote 46-27. The following
day, the Democratic Party (DP),the major opposition party,
announced that it intended to boycott the Parliament indefinitely.
DP Council Chairman L. Gansukh asserted that the Mongolian People's
Revolutionary Party (MPRP)-led government violated the laws several
times and was responsible for a recent helicopter accident killing
firefighters. Gansukh said that the DP would see what legal action
it could take against the government in the courts, since MPs in the
governing coalition had shielded the government from accepting
political responsibility for these failures. After the Democrats'
boycott announcement, Speaker Lundeejantsan cancelled the permission
for both the MPRP Caucus leader and DP Council leader to depart for
a U.S. parliamentary exchange on July 27, stating that the current
political situation did not allow them to be absent. However, the
Speaker permitted a mixed party group of five other MPs to
participate in the trip.
2. (SBU) Comment: The Democrats have been successful in recent
months in picking off individual leaders of the governing coalition,
capitalizing on and deepening splits in government ranks; successes
have ranged from ministers losing no confidence votes to the
resignation of then-Speaker Ts. Nyamdorj in June after it was
obvious a number of MPRP MPs had voted against him in a secret vote.
However, on the question of the survival of the government itself,
all of the coalition MPs hung together. While relaxed quorum rules
in recent years eases the impact of the DP boycott, parliament
observers note that there likely will be major difficulties in
achieving quorums in Standing Committees, through which legislation
must pass en route to the plenary session. With very little
legislation having emerged from Standing Committees given the
political distractions during the four months of the current
session, this means little may be accomplished if the Democrats are
not lured back. However, the Democrats risk pushing their political
fun too far, and may end up being blamed by the public for a "didn't
and can't do anything" Parliament. Unfortunately, one of the
potential victims of these distractions may be the Oyu Tolgoi copper
mine investment agreement between Ivanhoe/Rio Tinto and the GOM,
which was scheduled for consideration this week and which now
appears to have been referred to committee for reconsideration and
possible renegotiation (septel).
MINTON
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O.12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON EMIN MG
SUBJECT: Mongolian Government Survives Confidence Vote, Opposition
Walks Out
Sensitive But Unclassified -- Not for Internet Distribution.
1. (U) Mongolia's coalition government easily survived a no
confidence vote on July 24, winning the vote 46-27. The following
day, the Democratic Party (DP),the major opposition party,
announced that it intended to boycott the Parliament indefinitely.
DP Council Chairman L. Gansukh asserted that the Mongolian People's
Revolutionary Party (MPRP)-led government violated the laws several
times and was responsible for a recent helicopter accident killing
firefighters. Gansukh said that the DP would see what legal action
it could take against the government in the courts, since MPs in the
governing coalition had shielded the government from accepting
political responsibility for these failures. After the Democrats'
boycott announcement, Speaker Lundeejantsan cancelled the permission
for both the MPRP Caucus leader and DP Council leader to depart for
a U.S. parliamentary exchange on July 27, stating that the current
political situation did not allow them to be absent. However, the
Speaker permitted a mixed party group of five other MPs to
participate in the trip.
2. (SBU) Comment: The Democrats have been successful in recent
months in picking off individual leaders of the governing coalition,
capitalizing on and deepening splits in government ranks; successes
have ranged from ministers losing no confidence votes to the
resignation of then-Speaker Ts. Nyamdorj in June after it was
obvious a number of MPRP MPs had voted against him in a secret vote.
However, on the question of the survival of the government itself,
all of the coalition MPs hung together. While relaxed quorum rules
in recent years eases the impact of the DP boycott, parliament
observers note that there likely will be major difficulties in
achieving quorums in Standing Committees, through which legislation
must pass en route to the plenary session. With very little
legislation having emerged from Standing Committees given the
political distractions during the four months of the current
session, this means little may be accomplished if the Democrats are
not lured back. However, the Democrats risk pushing their political
fun too far, and may end up being blamed by the public for a "didn't
and can't do anything" Parliament. Unfortunately, one of the
potential victims of these distractions may be the Oyu Tolgoi copper
mine investment agreement between Ivanhoe/Rio Tinto and the GOM,
which was scheduled for consideration this week and which now
appears to have been referred to committee for reconsideration and
possible renegotiation (septel).
MINTON