‘Article 25.1 of Election Law violates the Constitution’
The Standing Committee on Justice convened to discuss two issues on November 11...
The Standing Committee on Justice convened to discuss two issues on November 11. In particular, the conclusion of the Constitutional Court on the dispute over whether some provisions of the Law on Elections of Capital City, Province, Soum and District Councils and the Law on Parliamentary Elections of Mongolia violated the Constitution was discussed.
The Constitutional Court concluded that Article 25.1 of the Law on Parliamentary Election stipulating, “Migration from one administrative unit to another shall be stopped from February 1 of the regular election year and resumed from the day following the polling day”, violates Article 1.2 of the Constitution stating, “… the rule of law is a fundamental principle of government,” and Article 16.9 of the law reflecting, “The right to elect and to be elected for public office”.
The majority of the members of the standing committee supported the conclusion.
During the meeting, the proposed amendment to the Law on the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens was discussed.
Chairman of the working group Ts.Sergelen said, “In order to improve Mongolia’s visa regulations, the bill outlines regulations to bring Mongolian visas in line with international standards, such as issuing visas at border crossings, issuing e-visas, operating visa centers, extending visas, and abolishing certain visas.”
The bill provides for the registration of foreign citizens crossing the Mongolian border with fingerprints and personal data. The bill initiators believe that the establishment of a visa center is the best solution to provide visa services to foreigners traveling to Mongolia quickly and protect the interests of Mongolians living abroad.
Ts.Sergelen noted that the legal framework for a potential hazard prevention system has been amended by receiving information from air passengers in advance, and exchanging and analyzing information with government authorities.
“The system will be introduced in accordance with the recommendations of the UN Security Council. Work is underway to install technology at the new airport to introduce an integrated registration system using non-overlapping human data. Since there is no program in Mongolia to signal the expiration of a visa, the joint program of the General Authority for Border Protection and Mongolian Immigration Agency manually screen each individual to identify expired visa holders.”
STANDING COMMITTEE ON INDUSTRIAL POLICY
On the same day, the Standing Committee on Industrial Policy convened with an attendance of 78.6 percent to discuss the draft resolution on putting the Asgat silver deposit into economic circulation.
Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry G.Yondon said, “In January 2019, the government transferred the license of the Asgat silver deposit to Erdenes Mongol LLC. Parliamentary Resolution No. 27 of 2007 included the Asgat silver deposit in the list of strategically important deposits. According to international research, price forecasts are optimistic and consumption is expected to increase by 2030.”
“The deposit has not been put into operation for many reasons, such as difficult infrastructure, remoteness, the lack of connection to the central power grid, unresolved industrial water supply, and unselected processing technology. Therefore, a provision stating, ‘The government will conduct experiments and research to put the Asgat silver deposit into economic circulation and resolve investment issues’, was included in the government action plan for 2020 to 2024.”
Negotiations are underway with several companies in Russia, the US and Australia on ways to develop the deposit.
As a result of various geological surveys conducted at the Asgat silver deposit since 1986, 15 ore zones with an average length of 3 kilometers and a width of 80 meters have been discovered in an area of 25 square kilometers. In total, 6.4 million tons of ore, 72,600 tons of copper, 3,300 tons of bismuth, 31,800 tons of antimony, 2,200 tons of silver and other ancillary mixed metal reserves have been identified, said the minister.
Members of the standing committee stressed the importance of conducting more detailed economic studies and finding comprehensive solutions.
During the meeting, a working group was established to prepare a resolution to address the issue.