The MPP group in Parliament met on December
20 to discuss the law draft on the election. A working group had earlier
reviewed the MPP Managing Council’s understanding of the Constitution that an
MP can only be directly elected by voters and its suggestion that the new
structure should allow representation from local people.

The group also discussed some other law
drafts, including those on a data base for all bank loans, on the budget, and on
the value added tax, and approved all of them except the one on the loans. The
group leader, D.Lundeejantsan, told media that working groups would now discuss
the drafts, particularly that on the budget, in more detail.

The group’s deputy leader, D.Dondog, told
media that it favored more power for local officials to raise revenue for local
use, to supplement a predetermined minimum amount allocated from the state
budget. Also, 30% of the VAT collected locally would go to the local budget. Parliament
would approve the combined budget by November 15. All expenses over MNT30
billion would be scrutinized by an organization outside Parliament.