Prime Minister S.Batbold has been chosen the new chairman of the MPRP. The incumbent head and former Prime Minister, S.Bayar, told delegates to the party conference before the meeting began on Thursday morning that he wanted to resign and proposed the name of Batbold as his successor. A vote was taken among the 194 members present, and all 191 valid votes were for Batbold. The conference had a total strength of 275.

Bayar said in his brief address that events have justified his decision last year to resign as Prime Minister. Recalling how the last special general conference of the MPRP, held 20 years ago under very difficult foreign and domestic circumstances, had brought in G.Ochirbat from abroad to work as Secretary-General under B.Dash-Yondon as the party head, he said after the Parliament election of 1996, a need was felt to have a younger leadership. N.Enkhbayar and U.Enkhtuvshin were appointed to senior positions in the party.

The situation has changed again. Today, the priority is adoption and implementation of an efficient economic development policy, A proper business environment must be created. For all this the ideal man is PM S.Batbold. His personality prefers working through consensus. Batbold does not usually say “No” to anybody “but politics is harsh and there may be times when he will have to be assertive in his opposition to others”.