On Friday, 15 November, there was a public protest on Ulaanbaatar’s Sukhbaatar square demanding the dissolution of parliament. About 200 people including pensioners, impoverished herders and disabled people took part in the demonstration outside Mongolia’s State Palace.

In order to prevent potential public disorder, the government promptly banned alcohol sales and issued a warning to the public against joining in the demonstration.

Parliamentary regulators responded to the demonstrators by saying the body can dissolve itself if two-thirds of the 76 lawmakers vote for the measure.

Corruption and a bulging national debt of about $23 billion, or twice the country’s annual economic output, have proved a major drag on the economy and have led to increasing public dissatisfaction.