Battulga Khaltmaa (L), presidential candidate of the opposition Democratic Party, casts his ballot in a polling station in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, June 26, 2017. (Xinhua/Asigang)
ULAN BATOR, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Mongolian opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Monday demanded a snap general election immediately, saying the ruling Mongolian People's Party (MPP) has led the country to poverty.
"The Mongolian parliament and government that formed during the parliamentary elections in 2016 have not fulfilled their promises to the Mongolian people. The function of the parliament has been stalled for almost two months due to the MPP's internal conflicts," Sodnomzundui Erdene, chairman of the DP, said at a press conference.
More than half of the lawmakers or 39 in the 76-seat parliament, most of whom belong to the MPP, sent an official letter to the country's parliament speaker Miyegombo Enkhbold in mid-December, urging him to voluntarily step down over alleged conflicts of interest.
Some lawmakers and ministers have boycotted plenary sessions of the parliament and meetings of its standing committees for six weeks, demanding the parliament speaker's resignation.
Prime Minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh submitted a request to the constitutional court on Nov. 29 to fire Enkhbold, saying that Enkhbold has been interfering in the investigation and settlement of related cases.
Audio recordings were made public in 2017 that some officials of the MPP, including Enkhbold, allegedly used their government positions as a tool to run in the parliamentary election in 2016.
Enkhbold has refused to resign, saying the lawmakers' demand is contrary to the law on dismissing a speaker of the parliament.
According to Mongolian law, there are now five legal grounds to dismiss the country's parliament speaker: death, severe disease, appointment to another position, guilty of a crime, and decision of dismissal from the constitutional court.