Mongolia’s PM resigns after son’s holiday photos spark widespread protests

Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene has stepped down following public anger over photos showing his son’s expensive holiday.

The images, which spread widely on social media, showed Oyun-Erdene’s son and his fiancée carrying luxury shopping bags, including a black Dior bag. One photo, said to have been posted by the fiancée, was captioned: “Happy birthday to me.” Another picture appeared to show the couple in a swimming pool.

The photos led to an investigation by the country’s anti-corruption agency. Many people questioned how the PM’s family could afford such a lifestyle. For two weeks, hundreds of mostly young protesters gathered in Ulaanbaatar, calling for Oyun-Erdene’s resignation.

Oyun-Erdene lost a confidence vote in parliament on Tuesday. Of the 88 lawmakers who voted, 44 supported him and 38 voted against. He needed at least 64 votes in the 126-member parliament to stay in office.

“It was an honour to serve my country and people in times of difficulties, including pandemics, wars, and tariffs,” Oyun-Erdene said after the vote.

He denied any wrongdoing and said the accusations were part of a political attack. “Critics are trying to damage my reputation with a smear campaign,” he said.

Transparency International, a global anti-corruption watchdog, ranked Mongolia 114th out of 180 countries last year. They noted that the country’s corruption situation has worsened since Oyun-Erdene became prime minister.

Mongolia, located between Russia and China, has been working to strengthen its democracy since the early 1990s. It has also been building closer relations with Western countries as part of its “third neighbour” policy, which aims to reduce dependence on its two large neighbours.

In a separate case, US prosecutors last year accused former prime minister Sukhbaatar Batbold of using stolen mining funds to buy property in New York. Batbold, who led the government from 2012 to 2015, denied the charges.