After announcing that the DP is pulling out of the coalition government, DP Chairman N.Altankhuyag, Secretary General D.Erdenebat, and the head of the DP caucus at Parliament, Ch.Saikhanbileg, answered questions from journalists.

Q: How can the DP chairman announce that the party is pulling out of the coalition government before the party’s National Consultative Committee and caucus weigh in on the issue?

N.A: Today we stated our positions and the final decision will be issued from the National Consultative Committee of the DP.

Q: When will the committee meet?

N.A: In the near future.

Q: If the DP pulls out of the coalition government, there are many issues that won’t be resolved, such as cash allowances, poverty, and unemployment. Will the DP take responsibility for unresolved issues?

N.A: The DP will take responsibility for the faults of the coalition government over the last three years and four months. We will not blame mistakes on others. We are satisfied with our progress. There is still much work to do to reach the goals of the “Mongol Citizen 2020” program and our economic plans.

Q: Will the DP form an alliance with the Civil Will Party?

N.A: There have not been such talks.

Q: Has the DP discussed its leaving the coalition government with the MPP chairman and prime minister? Has the government discussed the makeup of the next government?

N.A: DP officials met with MPP officials and we are working to provide economic and political stability. Six ministers are from the DP in the government and the DP will make efforts to form the next government in a short period of a time.

Q: The two parties were separate before the last election and united after the election. Could this happen again? Might the two parties cooperate the next four years?

N.A: The DP has its own ideology and goals and it does its work based on its ideology and goals. Our ministers and MPs are working to improve citizens’ lives and upgrade the country’s development. MPP officials could confirm that. I say that the two parties will cooperate when necessary and will compete also.

Q: The two parties agreed to a 60/40 ratio when establishing the coalition government. Will that change?

N.A: The coalition of the two parties has achieved the intensive development of the state but there are still many things to do. All things could not be decided in three years, and we have the possibility to decide these in the future.

Ch.S: The DP caucus raised some issues at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Social Policy, Education, Culture and Science. Many works will not be completed in the six months before the election. Parliament has decided to reject draft laws that demand much capital from the political parties that have seats at Parliament. Parliament and the Government should work according to their principles until the election. The DP’s position is to put the country’s interests before politics. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have warned that 2012 could be a year of great crisis like 2009. That is why we should prepare for a crisis.

D.E: The DP is pulling out of the coalition government due to the election. Mongolia chose a democratic [i.e., DP] president in 2009. We could establish democratic [i.e., DP] governance in 2012.