Sawt Falasteen - Mongolia PM faces likely confidence vote amid anti-corruption protests

The landlocked democracy in northern Asia has struggled with corruption for decades, and many in the country say a wealthy elite is hoarding the profits of a years-long coal mining boom at the expense of the general population.

Those tensions resurfaced last month after reports of allegedly lavish spending by the son of Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene sparked protests in the capital Ulaanbaatar.

Oyun-Erdene is due to address the State Great Khural -- the Mongolian parliament -- on Monday ahead of an expected "confidence vote" to decide whether the government he heads should continue, according to the prime minister's office.

It would mark the first time a Mongolian prime minister has submitted a confidence motion in their own government and raises the spectre of Oyun-Erdene's resignation if he loses.

Hundreds of young protesters crowded onto the square outside the parliament building on Monday morning, marching with white placards and chanting: "It is easy to resign."

Organiser Ulamsaikhan Otgon, 24, said the weeks of demonstrations "have showcased throughout that young people are very sensitive to unfairness" in society.

Yroolt, a 30-year-old content creator, said it was the second time he had attended.

"The reason I came is because I want a different life, a different society," he told an AFP reporter, declining to share his last name out of privacy concerns.

"We all know injustice is deeply embedded in our society but it's time for change."

Mongolia has been ruled by a three-way coalition government since elections last year resulted in a significantly reduced majority for Oyun-Erdene's Mongolian People's Party (MPP).

But the MPP evicted the second-largest group, the Democratic Party (DP), from the coalition agreement last month after some younger DP lawmakers backed calls for Oyun-Erdene's resignation.

The move pushed the country's fractious political scene into further uncertainty.

Since Oyun-Erdene took power in 2021, Mongolia has plummeted in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.

The allegations against Oyun-Erdene's family have hit a nerve at a time when many in the country are also worried about their economic prospects and rising living costs.

The prime minister's office has denied allegations of impropriety -- describing them as a "smear" -- and warned of economic chaos if his government collapses.

Some counter-protesters -- overwhelmingly older than their pro-opposition counterparts -- also turned out to support the prime minister last month.

L.AbuAli--SF-PST