Constitutional Court conclusion accepted
During its plenary session on June 8, Parliament accepted the Constitutional Court Conclusion No. 2 of 2023 on the dispute resolution on whether certain provisions of the Law on Courts, Law on Administrative Litigation, Law on Criminal Litigation and Law on Civil Litigation violate the relevant provision of the Constitution of Mongolia.
The Constitutional Court concluded that Clause 5.A of Article 25.7 of the Law on Courts, which stipulates, “The difference between the law application of first instance and appellate courts will be eliminated,” violates Article 16.14 of the Constitution, which provides for the right to a fair trial.
Two articles of the Law on Administrative Litigation, three articles of the Law on Criminal Litigation and two provisions of the Law on Civil Litigation do not comply with the aforementioned provision of the Constitution, the court ruled.
ELECTION BILL DISCUSSED
On the same day, Parliament reviewed the draft amendment to the Law on Parliamentary Elections.
In accordance with the newly-amended Constitution, parliamentary elections will be held in a mixed electoral system. Under the law, 78 members of Parliament will be elected from constituencies, while 48 will be elected from the party list totaling 126 members.
A total of 60 different proposals were received regarding the draft amendment to the Law on Parliamentary Elections. For example, it is proposed to set a date for taking votes from citizens living in foreign countries, and clearly reflects some of the functions and organization of the voting centers and branch commissions.
It is also requested to specify the regulations on voting for candidates in constituencies and parties or coalitions, and reflect the issue of party action plan, donation reports, and the maximum amount of election expenses. It is suggested to have a common campaign board with candidates’ poster in each constituency, and prohibit the taking of donations, services, pledges, and deposits for the nomination of parties and coalitions. Issues such as ensuring full participation of social representatives, campaigning of candidates on the list by the party and coalition’s election organization, and double checking of the voter list electronically are included in the bill.
650 MILLION USD LOAN TO BE TAKEN FROM ADB
Parliament ratified the general financing program between Mongolia and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is loan plan for 2022 through 2023.
The general financing program to be established with the bank is an international agreement and must be ratified by Parliament. With the approval of the general financing program, a loan of 650 million USD will be taken from the ADB.
The loan will be used to support policy actions against climate change, strengthen the budget, finance and economy, implement the New Revival Policy and the “Vision-2050” long-term development policy, improve border productivity and support sustainable trade, as well as for the third phase financing of the regional road development and maintenance project, the Erdeneburen Hydropower Plant Project, measures to ensure food supply and safety, and additional funding for the currently implemented projects.
During the plenary session, lawmaker Ts.Sandag-Ochir commented, “How much loan did country get from the ADB before? Without discussing the results of previous loans, the problem of getting the next one raises. Only seven ministers will spend this loan. What are the economic benefits of taking this loan? There is no result of taking a loan, the debt will only increase.”
Minister of Finance B.Javkhlan explained, “We approve our foreign debt strategy every three years. Parliament approves what loans will be taken and what they will be spent on in the next three years. According to this, the strategy was approved a year ago, and at that time we discussed it in detail. Mongolia cooperated with ADB for the 33rd year, received a loan of 2.3 billion USD and implemented 101 projects. This time, we will spend 650 million USD within the framework of the implementation of the New Revival Policy.”
Member of Parliament B.Enkhbayar expressed, “A total of 10 million USD is planned to be spent on improving access to schools and kindergartens. In total, it will be used to improve access to schools and kindergartens in five places. It costs 11 billion MNT to build one school with a capacity of 640 children. It means that 10 million USD to be received from ADB can build three schools. Shouldn’t the budget be increased?”
Minister of Education and Science L.EnkhAmgalan replied, “It is planned to spend 10 million USD on the expansion and construction of the schools, which are going to run in three shifts. Nationwide, there are 17 schools that will enter three shifts when the new school year begins next fall. Thanks to the efforts, the accessibility of the kindergarten was solved. We are working to make arrangements so that at least no more than 45 children sit in one class. To solve this problem, it is necessary to build a school. That’s why we have presented this issue to ADB and are waiting for their support to spend the funds to expand the schools.”