Prosecutor General resigns

State Prosecutor General M.Altankhuyag has submitted his letter of resignation on health reasons. This was not unexpected as the reputation of Mongolian law enforcing organizations suffered in the aftermath of the July 1 incidents and ever since he assumed office, President Elbegdorj has been nudging Altankhuyag to go. He made the suggestion in his speech at the opening of the Spring session of Parliament also. Altankhuyag has one year left of his six-year term. The Prosecutor General is appointed by the President and takes office after Parliament’s approval.

Now that he has submitted his resignation, interest shifts to the choice of a successor. Had this been a year ago, the front runners would have been D.Dorligjav, now Head of the President’s Office, and B.Delgermaa of the Democratic Party. Both studied law and have all the qualifications for the job. Mrs. Delgermaa is known for her commitment to judicial reform and protection of human rights. They are still contenders, but now face challenge from A.Gansukh, Deputy Minister of Transport. He, too, was trained in law and defended Ts.Sukhbaatar when he was charged with taking bribe from people selected to go to South Korea for work.

He is also married to the sister of the wife of Prime Minister S.Batbold. Some politicians are behind him, but it is difficult to say if their support stems from their appreciation of his legal acumen or from his family links to the Prime Minister. Not that there is any guarantee, in present-day Mongolia, that someone apart from these three will not be the final choice, from some other family network or because of what is known as connections.