In his speech at the opening of the Spring session of Parliament on April 5, President Ts. Elbegdorj reminded MPs that Mongolia did have a revolution, but a lot still remains to be accomplished. As the people of Mongolia have implemented “the historic transition of our society and have gone through an uneasy path”, he said, they have had “both achievements and failures”. He noted that “having made a mistake, we did not conceal it, and having made an achievement, we didn’t stay complacent”.

Recalling that Mongolians chose “the most complicated path of transition”, the President said. these changes and reforms took place “concurrently in politics, in the economy, in the society, in individual people’s lives and in our minds”. The choice was tough as “none of us was ready for this historic change, neither had we had experience”.

Asserting that basic individual rights and liberties have come to be commonly respected, he said, “Yet, a lot remains to be accomplished.” He revealed that a working group comprising of MPs, scholars and academics has been set up to recommend changes to the Constitution to make it more suited to the needs of the times.

He said people demand accountability from those in the government, and favored transferring more authority and power to local governments. “The country’s wealth must be created in local areas, and the local people have to reap the fruits of being the creators of wealth.” Along with this, he called for public service to be made more compatible with modern requirements.  Also, he said, there is every need to change the Parliamentary Election Law.

The full text of President Elbegdorj’s address to Parliament can ber seen at…
http://english.news.mn/content/4931.shtml