PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION BILL WITHDRAWN
During a caucus meeting held on January 18, the Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) group in Parliament made the decision to withdraw a bill on presidential elections.
The current election law regulates presidential, parliamentary, and local government elections, and was approved by the previous Parliament. The General Election Commission submitted a proposal to Parliament’s State Structure Standing Committee (SSSC) to distinguish between the elections by drafting a presidential election law, a parliamentary election law, and a local government election law.
MPs led by Head of the SSSC N.Enkhbold submitted a draft of the Law on Presidential Elections to Parliament last December.
MPs Ya.Sodbaatar and N.Tserenbat held a briefing on the MPP’s decision to withdraw the bill, and noted that the bill was challenged by MPs and legal specialists. The MPP believes that revising the bill would resolve critiques concerning legal technicalities, the logic behind the bill, and procedural challenges.
The MPP representatives said that the controversial opinions of legislators stated during the SSSC’s discussions of the bill, and opposition from political parties, the public, and media demonstrate that now is not the best time to push the bill forward.
The MPP says it will listen to public opinion, gather opinions from other MPs, and review existing legislation, which is important for approving a presidential election law.