2025 Mongolian political crisis

Party divisions 2025 June protests on 2 June 2025 On 14 May 2025, a series of youth-led anti-government demonstrations against Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene began in Ulaanbaatar. These demonstrations occurred amid a broader public frustration against Oyun-Erdene, who, by then, had become the longest-serving prime minister of modern Mongolia, and his coalition government between the MPP, the Democratic Party (DP), and the HUN Party (HUN), formed in July 2024. In early 2025, reports emerged about Oyun-Erdene's 23-year-old son, Temuulen, and his extravagant lifestyle, with his fiancée featuring luxury designer handbags, high-end rings, and helicopter rides. The viral sensations led to Oyun-Erdene being accused of corruption for wealth exceeding that of a civil servant. This promptly led the MPP to expel the DP from the coalition government for "violating" the memorandum of understanding on 21 May. Government collapse On 28 May, the Standing Committee on State Structure of 23 MPs discussed the matter of a motion of confidence. Ultimately, voting via secret ballot, in which 17 of the 23 committee members supported the confidence vote proposal, passed the proposal over to the State Great Khural for discussion., after losing a motion of confidence on the night of 3 June 2025 On 2 June, the vote of confidence was stated to require support from 64 out of the total 126 MPs. 19 MPs were absent from the vote; the turnout for the parliamentary session was 117. During the parliamentary session, President Khürelsükh made a surprise visit and addressed parliament live. In his speech, he stated, "Don't be attached to the small position you hold," a line widely believed to be an address to Oyun-Erdene. Shortly after, a meeting by the DP caucus promptly led to the effective withdrawal of DP lawmakers from the motion. He served as caretaker until a successor was appointed within 30 days by the president and the parliament. Zandanshatar government in July 2025 Former parliamentary speaker and incumbent chief of the Office of the President, Gombojavyn Zandanshatar, was nominated by President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh on 10 June. He was unanimously nominated by the State Great Khural (108-9) to assume the role of prime minister on 12 June, A new coalition government comprising the MPP, the HUN, and the Civil Will–Green Party (CWGP) was unveiled by Zandanshatar on 18 June, with majority ministers being born in the seventies. One of the issues Zandanshatar promised to focus on was the budgetary issue. His government unveiled various austerity measures and government cuts to reduce fiscal deficit. == Events ==

MPP chairmanship elections Internal elections for the MPP chairmanship were scheduled to occur in September 2025 during the party's General Assembly. Historically, many of Mongolia's prime ministers held the role of party leader for political stability. PM Zandanshatar, who was one of the few prominent figures unseated in the 2024 elections, had a relatively weak political positioning after securing the premiership in June. First round On 27 September, the eighth General Assembly of the MPP convened to nominate a successor to Oyun-Erdene. Both Amarbayasgalan and Zandanshatar ran in the chairmanship elections. Prior to the election, the counting committee stated, "if no candidate were to receive two-thirds of the vote, the candidates with the most votes were to compete in a second round." In the first round, Amarbayasgalan received 56.1% of the vote whilst Zandanshatar received 44%. Zandanshatar asked for a hand recount, the latter of which "hardly differed" from the results. In response, Zandanshatar's supporters boycotted the second round and withdrew from the voting process, arguing "there should be no procedure exceeding the party charter." Second round In the second round of voting on 28 September, Amarbayasgalan secured 85.67% of the vote from 321 party members. According to Amarbayasgalan, Zandanshatar himself proposed to establish a dual chairmanship, to which he declined and condemned as "undemocratic" during a press conference. The official results of the election were disputed. Consequently, the final decision was to be made during the MPP Congress, which was scheduled to take place on 15-16 November. Party turmoil Zandanshatar accused Amarbayasgalan of being involved in the coal theft scandal and appointed Battumuriin Enkhbayar (MPP) as Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs to investigate Amarbayasgalan's involvement in the coal theft scandal of 2022. Subsequently, the party revoked Enkhbayar's membership. In the ensuing chaos, seven MPP lawmakers threatened to leave the party if the decision was not reversed. Similar to the MPP's division between Miyeegombyn Enkhbold and Khürelsükh in 2017, which led to the downfall of PM Jargaltulgyn Erdenebat, MPP lawmakers were effectively split into two groups: 32 supporting Amarbayasgalan and 33 supporting Zandanshatar. This intraparty factionalism, however, lacked ideological differences and was primarily motivated by personal allegiances. On 14 October 2025, during an extraordinary MPP parliamentary caucus meeting, 36 lawmakers on the side of Zandanshatar dismissed party caucus leader Jadambyn Bat-Erdene. The next day, Bat-Erdene, during a press conference, stated decisions made during the meeting were invalid due to the absence of the caucus leader. However, the same day, the lawmakers re-met and appointed MP Jigjidiin Batjargal as the successor leader. 2026 budget With the opening of the fall session of the State Great Khural, discussions for the draft Law on the State Budget for 2026 arose prior to the crisis in early September. The MPP leadership feud complicated proceedings. After Amarbayasgalan's victory, the simultaneous tensions between the parliamentary speaker and the prime minister created overlapping executive legislative friction within the same ruling party. Opposition voices from the DP raised concerns about parliamentary procedural delays and lack of oversight for the 2026 budget. To maintain fiscal discipline, expenditures were cut by MNT 990.17 billion and capital outlays by MNT 361.14 billion. Savings were redirected toward priority infrastructure, especially road transport, and projects aligned with the 2026 Development Plan of Mongolia. Despite the political turmoil, there were no major substantive policy differences between the MPP factions on the budget itself. == Crisis ==

On 17 October 2025, along with Amarbayasgalan's resignation as speaker, Zandanshatar was dismissed as prime minister in a parliamentary vote, with 40 votes supporting him and 71 opposing. However, many opposition lawmakers and lawyers noted that the motion, overseen by deputy speaker Khürelbaataryn Bulgantuya (MPP), was passed with procedural errors that were "unconstitutional." A formal complaint was soon submitted to the Constitutional Court of Mongolia against the parliamentary process. On 20 October, Zandanshatar's removal was vetoed by President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, citing procedural errors. Soon, on 23 October, the Constitutional Court ruled that the motion passed by parliament was unconstitutional and had no legal basis. Both the procedural conduct of the parliamentary session and the resolution on the dismissal of Zandanshatar were thereby ruled inconsistent with the Constitution of Mongolia. Following the decision, Khürelsükh rescinded his veto. Deputy chairwoman Bulgantuya was called to resign by opposition lawmakers for violating the constitution and was dismissed by the MPP caucus on 30 October. Later that day, MPP caucus leader Batjargal was officially sworn in and received his seal from Bat-Erdene, who was nominated as deputy speaker. Bat-Erdene officially succeeded Bulgantuya on 12 November. Cabinet reshuffle Subsequently, Enkhbayar was officially appointed and inaugurated as justice minister on 26 October. Three days later, Deputy Prime Minister Sainbuyangiin Amarsaikhan (MPP) announced that he would be resigning from the Zandanshatar cabinet, stating that "the current government undermines the foundations of democracy and civil liberties." During a cabinet meeting that day, he was officially dismissed by Zandanshatar for allegedly violating his responsibilities as minister. Amarsaikhan was one of the 71 MPs who voted to dismiss the prime minister on 17 October. He was replaced by Khassuuriin Gankhuyag on 12 November. 31st Congress of the MPP On 11 November, Zandanshatar withdrew his candidacy from the upcoming MPP chairmanship election to "prioritize national stability and interests." Soon, on 20 November, Uchral was nominated as the next speaker of parliament. Prior to Uchral's appointment as speaker, the position was vacant from 17 October to 20 November. Efforts to unify the MPP parliamentary caucus and the broader party itself came after Uchral's elevation to the chairmanship. Agricultural minister Jadambyn Enkhbayar was elevated to First Deputy and Minister of Economy and Development, succeeding Uchral on 25 November. Enkhbayar's role as Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Light Industry was replaced by former governor of Dornod Province and MP Myagmarsürengiin Badamsüren on the same day. During a MPP General Assembly on 27 February 2026, chairman Uchral suggested the idea of renouncing the memberships of four MPP politicians, including Amarbayasgalan, who is under investigation for alleged corruption, and Bulgantuya, who violated the constitution according to the Constitutional Court. == Aftermath ==

Political deadlock caucus on 26 March 2026 The cabinet reshuffle by Zandanshatar, the nomination of MPP chairman Uchral to the speaker of parliament, and seventeen new appointments of deputy ministers in late 2025 were met with harsh criticism from the main opposition, the Democratic Party (DP). The leader of the opposition and the Chairman of the Democratic Party, Odongiin Tsogtgerel, who was elected in August 2025, threatened to boycott all parliamentary procedures and motions, citing the concentration of power by the MPP. The appointment of MPP leader Uchral as speaker drew particular opposition from the DP. After the convention of the State Great Khural spring session on 18 March 2026, Tsogtgerel stated, "It is inappropriate for the chairman of a multi-party parliament to simultaneously hold the role of party chair," and announced a parliamentary boycott by the DP amid growing economic uncertainties triggered by the 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis. Despite the MPP having enough seats to fulfill the 64-seat requirement to convene the parliament, the absence of several MPP lawmakers allied to Oyun-Erdene led to a political deadlock. On 26 March, the DP caucus threatened to dismiss Uchral if he didn't resign as speaker. Resignation of Gombojavyn Zandanshatar Consequently, to prevent the gridlock, Prime Minister Zandanshatar submitted his resignation to the Executive Council of the MPP, the highest decision-making body of the party, on 27 March 2026. The party board members unanimously accepted his resignation, causing a motion to be discussed by the State Great Khural the following day. Prior to the parliamentary session, opposition leader Tsogtgerel declared that all 42 DP lawmakers would boycott the session if the procedure was chaired by MPP chairman Uchral. The motion to accept Zandanshatar's resignation was chaired by Uchral, promptly leading to a DP boycott and a turnout of only 73 MPs out of 126. Zandanshatar, in his speech to parliament, stated that he was resigning from his post to prevent the deadlock amid internal and external turmoil. His resignation was accepted (54-19) by parliament on the evening of 27 March 2026. Thereby, a new prime minister was to be chosen by the State Great Khural and the President within 30 days. Uchral government in 2025 Following the resignation of Zandanshatar, the highest decision-making body of the ruling MPP nominated 99.7% in favor of party chairman and speaker of parliament Nyam-Osoryn Uchral on 29 March 2026. The next day, his nomination was approved (23-1) by the parliamentary Standing Committee on State Structure. Subsequently, he was dismissed as speaker and, the following night, appointed prime minister by the State Great Khural with 88 of the 107 in favor. He became Mongolia's third prime minister since the 2024 elections. At the beginning of 31 March, he received his seal from Zandanshatar. The second-largest parliamentary bloc, the DP, announced it had no intentions of joining the new cabinet led by Uchral. Without the DP's 42 seats, the MPP invited its previous partner, the HUN Party, to the coalition government on 31 March 2026. Uchral unveiled his cabinet, comprising the MPP, the HUN, and the National Coalition, to the State Great Khural for approval on 3 April 2026, the same day the next speaker, Sandagiin Byambatsogt, was appointed. Uchral's coalition government was sworn in the next day on 4 April.