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![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/02ed\/live\/d7beb890-402a-11f0-a723-595978d2ec8d.jpg.webp\")
Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nMongolian prime minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene has resigned after losing a confidence vote in parliament.<\/p>\n The vote followed days of mass protests over corruption allegations – fuelled by social media posts about his son’s lavish birthday party and engagement.<\/p>\n Oyun-Erdene, who took office in 2021, will remain as caretaker PM until a successor is appointed within 30 days.<\/p>\n “It was an honour to serve my country and people in times of difficulties, including pandemics, wars, and tariffs,” he said after the vote.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He had to stand down as he fell short of a majority, or 64 of the 126-seat parliament. Some 82 lawmakers took part in the secret ballot, 44 of whom voted for Oyun-Erdene, while 38 voted against him. <\/p>\n Hundreds of protesters, many of them young people, had been taking to the streets for two weeks before the vote, demanding Oyun-Erdene’s resignation.<\/p>\n In particular, they pointed to his family’s – especially his son’s – apparent lavish lifestyle, questioning the source of their wealth.<\/p>\n Mongolians have circulated on social media an extravagant wedding proposal by Oyun-Erdene’s son, as well as expensive fashion items. <\/p>\n Oyun-Erdene has rejected allegations of corruption, accusing critics of launching a smear campaign against him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n According to Transparency International, a watchdog, Mongolia has seen worsening corruption since Oyun-Erdene came into power. Last year, it was ranked 114th out of 180 countries in terms of government transparency.<\/p>\n A former communist state sanwiched between Russia and China, Mongolia has been transitioning to democracy since the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.<\/p>\n Corruption is a persistent problem. Last year, US prosecutors sought to forfeit former Mongolian PM Sukhbaatar Batbold’s two New York apartments<\/a> that he allegedly bought using stolen mining funds.<\/p>\n Batbold, who served from 2012 to 2015, denied wrongdoing.<\/p>\n In recent years, Mongolia has sought to build closer ties with the West, counting the United States and European countries as part of its “third neighbour” foreign policy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"AFP](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/6b88\/live\/0930a740-4020-11f0-8a24-e7dcdb10474f.jpg.webp\")
AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n