In 2025, Mongolia underwent a political crisis caused by a leadership feud within the ruling Mongolian People's Party (MPP). The feud arose in the aftermath of the 2025 Mongolian protests and subsequent resignation of Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, who served as the Chairman of the MPP since 2021. The MPP, with 68 seats in the State Great Khural since 2024, had an emerging factional divide between conservative members born in the 1970s and reformist members born in the 1980s. He lost a motion of confidence (44-38) on 3 June, in which the opposition Democratic Party (DP) lawmakers refused to participate.

Former parliamentary speaker, Gombojavyn Zandanshatar, was nominated as the next prime minister by President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh on 10 June. He was subsequently appointed by the State Great Khural on 13 June. However, a successor to Oyun-Erdene as the next MPP chairperson would not be named until the party's September conference. According to the party charter, the party chairman is designated to assume the role of prime minister when possible.

The ensuing tensions between the two camps led by Oyun-Erdene and Khürelsükh reached their height during the MPP Congress on 27 and 28 September. Dashzegviin Amarbayasgalan, a long-term ally of Oyun-Erdene, and PM Zandanshatar, a long-term ally of Khürelsükh, both ran for the chairmanship elections. Both sides contested the election results, ultimately leading to a leadership battle and political crisis that lasted 1 month and 15 days. The crisis came to an end on November 11, when Nyam-Osoryn Uchral, the First Deputy Prime Minister, was overwhelmingly voted in as the next party chairman. He was officially registered by the Supreme Court as the successor to Oyun-Erdene on November 15 and subsequently sworn in to the month-long vacant speaker's office on November 20.

The election of MPP leader Uchral to the speaker's office later led to a parliamentary boycott by the DP starting in March 2026. After two weeks of parliamentary gridlock, Prime Minister Zandanshatar resigned on 27 March and was succeeded by Uchral three days later.

Background 2025 June protests

On 14 May 2025, a series of youth-led anti-government demonstrations against Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene began in Ulaanbaatar. These demonstrations occurred amid a broader public frustration against Oyun-Erdene, who, by then, had become the longest-serving prime minister of Mongolia; and his coalition government between the MPP, the Democratic Party (DP), and the HUN Party (HUN), formed in July 2024. In early 2025, reports emerged about Oyun-Erdene's 23-year-old son, Temuulen, and his extravagant lifestyle, with his fiancée featuring luxury designer handbags, high-end rings, and helicopter rides. The viral sensations led to Oyun-Erdene being accused of corruption for wealth exceeding that of a civil servant.

An online petition, calling for Oyun-Erdene's resignation and accountability, was signed by 59,000 people in a matter of weeks. The "It's easy to resign" () protests eventually focused on broader concerns of corruption, inequality, and economic hardship, and demanded that Oyun-Erdene and his cabinet resign and take accountability. Several lawmakers from the DP expressed support for the protestors and engaged in the demonstrations. This promptly led the MPP to expel the DP from the coalition government for "violating" the memorandum of understanding on 21 May.

Government collapse On 28 May, the Standing Committee on State Structure of 23 MPs discussed the matter of a motion of confidence. Ultimately, voting via secret ballot, in which 17 of the 23 committee members supported the confidence vote proposal, passed the proposal over to the State Great Khural for discussion.

On 2 June, the vote of confidence was stated to require support from 64 out of the total 126 MPs. 19 MPs were absent from the vote; the turnout for the parliamentary session was 117. During the parliamentary session, President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh made a surprise visit and addressed parliament live. In his speech, he stated, "Don't be attached to the small position you hold," a line believed to be an address to Oyun-Erdene. Shortly after, a meeting by the DP caucus promptly led to the effective withdrawal of DP lawmakers from the motion. This led to the number of MPs in session to drop from 117 to 82.

Out of the 82 MPs, 44 voted via secret ballot in favour of Oyun-Erdene, whilst 38 voted against. Failing to meet the required majority of 64, Oyun-Erdene resigned shortly after, on the night of 3 June. With him, his 100-day-old coalition government collapsed. He served as caretaker until a successor was appointed within 30 days by the president and parliament. Motion of confidenceBallot →3 June 2025Required majority →64 out of 126 20Votes in favourVotes againstAbsenteesSource: Ikon

Zandanshatar government

Former parliamentary speaker and incumbent chief of the Office of the President, Gombojavyn Zandanshatar, was nominated by President Khürelsükh on 10 June. He was unanimously approved by the State Great Khural (108-9) to assume the role of prime minister on 12 June, and was sworn in the next day. A new coalition government comprising the MPP, the HUN, and the Civil Will–Green Party (CWGP) was unveiled by Zandanshatar on 18 June, with majority ministers being born in the seventies. One of the issues Zandanshatar promised to focus on was the budgetary issue. His government unveiled various austerity measures and government cuts to reduce fiscal deficit.

Events

MPP chairmanship elections Internal elections for the MPP chairmanship were scheduled to occur in September 2025 during the party's General Assembly. Historically, many of Mongolia's prime ministers held the role of party leader for political stability. PM Zandanshatar, who was one of the few prominent figures unseated in 2024, had a relatively weak political mandate after securing the premiership in June. The possibility of a non-allied contender ascending to the party leadership posed a possible threat to Zandanshatar's tenure.

First round

On 27 September, the eighth General Assembly of the MPP convened to nominate a successor to Oyun-Erdene. Both Amarbayasgalan and Zandanshatar ran in the chairmanship elections. Prior to the election, the counting committee stated, "if no candidate were to receive two-thirds of the vote, the candidates with the most votes were to compete in a second round." In the first round, Amarbayasgalan received 56.1% of the vote whilst Zandanshatar received 44%. Zandanshatar asked for a hand recount, the latter of which "hardly differed" from the results. In response, Zandanshatar's supporters boycotted the second round and withdrew from the voting process, arguing "there should be no procedure exceeding the party charter." CandidateVotes%Dashzegviin Amarbayasgalan24056.1%Gombojavyn Zandanshatar18843.9%Total428100.0%Turnout47780.0%Source: Ikon

Second round

In the second round of voting on 28 September, Amarbayasgalan secured 85.67% of the vote from 321 party members. According to Amarbayasgalan, Zandanshatar himself proposed to establish a dual chairmanship, to which he declined and condemned as "undemocratic" during a press conference. The official results of the election were disputed. Consequently, the final decision was to be made during the MPP Congress, which was scheduled to take place on 15-16 November. CandidateVotes%Dashzegviin Amarbayasgalan27585.67%Gombojavyn Zandanshatar4614.33%Total321100.0%Turnout47767.3%Source: Ikon

Party turmoil Zandanshatar accused Amarbayasgalan of being involved in the coal theft scandal and appointed Battumuriin Enkhbayar (MPP) as Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs to investigate Amarbayasgalan's involvement in the coal theft scandal of 2022. Subsequently, the party revoked Enkhbayar's membership. In the ensuing chaos, seven MPP lawmakers threatened to leave the party if the decision was not reversed.

Similar to the MPP's division between Miyeegombyn Enkhbold and Khürelsükh in 2017, which led to the downfall of PM Jargaltulgyn Erdenebat, MPP lawmakers were effectively split into two groups: 32 supporting Amarbayasgalan and 33 supporting Zandanshatar. This intraparty factionalism, however, lacked ideological differences and was primarily motivated by personal allegiances. On 14 October 2025, during an extraordinary MPP parliamentary caucus meeting, 36 lawmakers on the side of Zandanshatar dismissed party caucus leader Jadambyn Bat-Erdene. The next day, Bat-Erdene, during a press conference, stated decisions made during the meeting were invalid due to the absence of the caucus leader. However, the same day, the lawmakers re-met and appointed MP Jigjidiin Batjargal as the successor leader.

2026 budget With the opening of the fall session of the State Great Khural, discussions for the draft Law on the State Budget for 2026 arose prior to the crisis in early September. The MPP leadership feud complicated proceedings. After Amarbayasgalan's victory, the simultaneous tensions between the parliamentary speaker and the prime minister created overlapping executive legislative friction within the same ruling party. Opposition voices from the DP raised concerns about parliamentary procedural delays and lack of oversight for the 2026 budget.

To maintain fiscal discipline, expenditures were cut by MNT 990.17 billion and capital outlays by MNT 361.14 billion. Savings were redirected toward priority infrastructure, especially road transport, and projects aligned with the 2026 Development Plan of Mongolia. Despite the political turmoil, there were no major substantive policy differences between the MPP factions on the budget itself.

During the height of the crisis in October, public school teachers and doctors from Mongolia's only national trade union center, Confederation of Mongolian Trade Unions, went on strike. During a week-long strike, teachers demanded that the government raise the basic salary to MNT 3.5 million due to economic hardship and overcrowding in public schools.

Crisis

On 17 October 2025, along with Amarbayasgalan's resignation as speaker, Zandanshatar was dismissed as prime minister in a parliamentary vote, with 40 votes supporting him and 71 opposing. His tenure lasted for 125 days, which made him the shortest-serving prime minister in Mongolia's modern history. He was to remain as caretaker prime minister until a successor was chosen by the president and the State Great Khural within 30 days. Motion to support the proposalto dismiss the prime ministerBallot →17 October 2025Required majority →56 out of 111 15Votes in favourVotes againstAbsenteesSource: Ubn However, many opposition lawmakers and lawyers noted that the motion, overseen by deputy speaker Khürelbaataryn Bulgantuya (MPP), was passed with procedural errors that were "unconstitutional." A formal complaint was soon submitted to the Constitutional Court of Mongolia against the parliamentary process. Between 17 and 20 October, two of the three members of the National Security Council were vacant.

On 20 October, Zandanshatar's removal was vetoed by President Khürelsükh, citing procedural errors. Soon, on 23 October, the Constitutional Court ruled that the motion passed by parliament was unconstitutional and had no legal basis. Both the procedural conduct of the parliamentary session and the resolution on the dismissal of Zandanshatar were thereby ruled inconsistent with the Constitution of Mongolia. Following the decision, Khürelsükh rescinded his veto. Deputy chairwoman Bulgantuya was called to resign by opposition lawmakers for violating the constitution and was dismissed by the MPP caucus on 30 October. Later that day, MPP caucus leader Batjargal was officially sworn in and received his seal from Bat-Erdene, who was nominated as deputy speaker. Bat-Erdene officially succeeded Bulgantuya on 12 November.

Cabinet reshuffle