On June 28, a meeting was held to introduce the amendments to the Constitution of Mongolia and the ‘D-Parliament’ electronic platform. Civil servants of local administrative organizations of the capital city and Ulaanbaatar's Citizens' Representative Khural (The City Council) members attended the discussion and, Speaker of the State Great Khural (Parliament) G.Zandanshatar, Governor of the Capital City and Mayor of Ulaanbaatar D.Sumiyabazar, and Chairman of Ulaanbaatar's Citizens' Representative Khural J.Batbayasgalan delivered speech.

CITIZENS’S ENGAGEMENT IN THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS TO BE INCREASED

Speaker of the State Great Khural G.Zandanshatar introduced the amendments to the Constitution of Mongolia, and the ‘D.Parliament.mn’ electronic system. He said, “The launching of the “D-Parliament” platform is aimed at ensuring the participation of citizens in the legislative process. In 1996, when the internet was first introduced in Mongolia, there were only about 500 users, but now 80 percent of total households are connected to the internet. Moreover, 84.7 percent of the population uses smartphones. This means that anyone with a smartphone can directly engage in the legislative process and express their views. Therefore, citizens’ active involvement is crucial to make government activities more transparent, and parliamentary democracy will be strengthened”.

Participants expressed their opinions and asked questions on the amendments to the Constitution as well as the ‘D.Parliament.mn’ electronic system.

Some participants said that if the territorial units of Mongolia were not reconsidered and reidentified, population of some remotely located soums are rapidly declining. Many people were also pointing out the inaccurate comparison of the status of administrative units such as the capital city being equivalent to an aimag and district to a soum.

“URBAN DEVELOPMENT IS BEING LIMITED WHEN THE STATUS OF THE CAPITAL CITY IS EQUIVALENT TO AIMAG”

At the end of the discussion, the Mayor expressed his stance on the constitutional amendments. He said, “Ulaanbaatar is the largest social and economic center in the country where more than half of the population lives. Therefore, the City Council and Mayor's Office of Ulaanbaatar city are working together with the State Great Khural and the Government to address the issues facing the people of Ulaanbaatar through a unified policy for the prosperity of the capital city. The Speaker of the State Great Khural has taken the initiative to address the issues of the capital city, leading members of the State Great Khural. The Ad Hoc Committee on Ulaanbaatar City's Development Policy was set up and works are being done to introduce effective solutions. We are aiming to carry out legal, economic, and governance reforms.

It is commendable that the government is focusing on supporting the economy, maintaining governance stability, and developing a unified national policy. We have many challenges ahead of us.

The issue of increasing the number of members of the State Great Khural as part of the constitutional amendments is receiving public criticizm. The government will, indeed, be stable if the number of members increases. On the other hand, it will give financial and budgetary authority to Ulaanbaatar. The Law on Legal Status of Ulaanbaatar city was been amended last year. The capital city’s development will always be limited when its status is equivalent to aimags, district’s to soum, and khoroo’s to bagh. The capital city’s status should be regulated at the level of international city. There is also a proposal to remove the provisions related to the capital city from Article 4 of the Constitution and transfer them to Article 13. It is worth mentioning that the capital city will be a region with a special status.

Ulaanbaatar is not comparable to 21 aimags. It is home to half of the city's economy and population, and 95 percent of its universities and colleges. If the constitutional amendment ensures the legal and economic environment of Ulaanbaatar, it is possible to solve the problems accumulated over the past 30 years. Therefore, the current issues such as traffic congestion, urban planning, access to schools and kindergartens, the obsolescence of underground engineering facilities, and the inability to raise the salaries will be gradually addressed. The steps towards prosperity should start from here”.

The Mayor also expressed his position on digital transition and the reduction of corruption.

CAPITAL CITY TRAINING, RESEARCH, AND PUBLIC RELATIONS AGENCY