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We ¡ª
the representatives of the Democratic Party of Mongolia ¡ª
are sure that the Third Conference of Asian Political Parties
which is being attended by large number of political parties
from all over the region shows the importance of this event.
We also attach a significant role to this conference in terms
of developing mutual understanding between influential
political forces in our region as well as expanding
cooperation between them towards preserving peace and security
and reaching the common goal of bringing prosperity to all our
peoples.
As
many of you may know that since Mongolia has chosen the path
of democracy and free market economy we have had 4 general
elections so far. At the first three elections there were big
swings to one of the two major political forces. The MPRP
served twice as a ruling party and the Democratic coalition
once. It happened partially because of the existing electoral
system so called majority system which is based on the
principle of ¡°first past the post¡±. But at the last
general election which was held two months ago the pendulum
stopped sharp at the middle not giving a majority to any of
the two parties.
Under
these circumstances when the two major political players have
approximately the same number of seats in the newly elected
parliament it was hard to define which party forms the new
Government and leads the country for the next four year
period. After a month quarrel and even street demonstrations
the two parties reached an agreement to form a grand coalition
Government on the basis of a broad national consensus. The
President of Mongolia who is by Constitution the symbol of
national unity has played an outstanding role in bringing two
sides together and making them sit on a negotiating table.
As a
result of time consuming and painful negotiations we have
agreed on principles how to share the power and rule the
country together. It is my pleasure to announce that today we
have fully operating parliament ¡ª the speaker of which is
being nominated by the MPRP and all Standing Committees are
being composed equally from the representatives of the two
parties in terms of chairmanship and membership. Just ten days
ago the new Prime Minister who represents the ¡°Motherland
and Democracy¡± coalition was appointed by the parliament by
acclamation.
The
new Prime Minister Mr. Elbegdorj pointed out in his first
speech that ¡°¡ there are no losers, we are all winners. It
is time to work together for benefits of the country and
well-being of the people. It is highest will of the people and
a necessity for the political parties to accept and respect it
and act accordingly.¡±
Now
the two parties are in the process of forming a new Government
and drafting a program to be followed by the new Government
for four years to come. Both sides see today¡¯s situation as
an opportunity to conduct those reforms which are already high
on the agenda but not being possible to be brought into
reality because of lack of support by the party in opposition.
There are many issues which need to be resolved by common will
of the political parties and which are crucial to put the
country on a track of sustainable development.
We are
very keen that this completely new type of Government in our
country¡¯s history will produce some good results. We all
hope that Mongolian experience will serve as a good example
how the political parties with different ideologies can work
together for the sake of their country in peaceful time
without necessity being dictated by external or other natural
causes. Also we would be happy to share our experience within
framework of this conference or through other channels.
¡¡
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