Parliament
will this week have the first discussion of the draft setting out procedures
for amending the Constitution. The issue was raised in 2004 but it has been
such a sensitive issue since the seven amendments passed after the 2000
election when the MPRP was in power, that no proposals were submitted until now.

The
last amendments are widely perceived to have been against both the letter and
the spirit of the Constitution. To understand how this could have happened, we have
to recall the political situation then. The Constitution of 1992 did not allow
MPs to become Ministers. The 1996 elections put the then Democratic Federation in
power but the coalition lacked solidarity and the Government resigned three
times as ministers could not work in harmony. However, matters were patched up
after every resignation and a new government formed. None of the four
governments between 1996 and 2006 included any member of Parliament.      

The MPRP returned to power in 2000 and realized the constitutional provision affected
smooth governance. It thus used its majority in Parliament to pass seven amendments
to the Constitution. Now the Prime Minister could submit his list of ministers
to the President and if he did not accept it in a week, the matter would be
decided by Parliament. Another provision fixed the number of ministers at 16,
of whom 13 would be MPs, and 3 from outside Parliament.      

The present proposals set out areas where there will be no amendment, such as
the governance schedule and human rights provisions. It also forbids amendments
in a six-month period prior to a Parliament election, and wants any amendment
to be valid for at least eight years. Any change in the basic principles of the
Constitution will have to be placed before a referendum.  

In the event of the draft being approved, which provisions would be the first
to be sought by MPs to be amended? The priority areas appear to be controlling
unproductive expenditure from the budget, altering the administrative
structure, and more investment outside Ulaanbaatar and in the provinces. The
last would give a chance to finally implement the regional development policy, prepared
when N.Bagabandi was President but never adopted as law.