President Ts. Elbegdorj has vetoed the law on the 2010 State Budget entirely. MPs budgeted to distribute Tgs1 billion to each constituency for a total of Tgs76 billion. After approval of the budget law, it was criticized by public. The President considered it illegal and made his resolution to veto the law on December 10, 2009.

In a statement of the veto, he asserted, “The process of parliamentary session, minutes of meetings of standing committees, and other open sources, clearly show that it was agreed to distribute Tgs1 billion to each Parliamentary constituency and the money was placed in packages of budget general managers when the 2010 State Budget was adopted. This clear ‘mistake’ of Parliament, made while discussing the budget bill, disharmonizes the Constitution’s fundamental principles about power distribution of state organizations, and power implementation under mutual controls. The same amount of money budgeted per each constituency in the pretext of calling it an investment is to be dedicated to constituencies from where they were elected. Also the right of disposal is to be in the hands of MPs. Although it was disposed of as MPs wished in previous years, now they have resolved their practices the same as in previous years.”

In his speech in the beginning of budget bill discussion at the Parliament, President Ts. Elbegdorj underlined that the abovementioned consequence is the wrong approach practiced by high-level institutes of legislative and executive powers and must not be done while adopting a 2010 State Budget. He expressed regret that the habit was transformed into a slightly different form. For example, it channeled Tgs 76 billion into Ministries budgets and various funds that could be spent at the disposal of MPs on projects in their own constituency.

In his veto, the President explained that when he requested an official explanation from Government and Parliament about the so called matter of ‘Money of MPs’ and he received a written response with no clear ground or truthful answer for him to believe that the abovementioned bad practice has been discontinued. But Parliament made a show of doing it by means of absorbing the ‘money of MPs’ into the law’s clause regarding the total investment. It caused him to veto the law.

Also when Parliament discussed and adopted the budget law, it violated some clauses of Law on Management and Finance of Budgetary Organizations, a clause of the Constitution, and relevant clauses of Law of Construction, which prohibits the budgeting of investment for building without a plan.

Parliament is scheduled to discuss the Presidential veto this week. If two-thirds of MPs attending the Parliament meeting do not accept the veto, the 2010 State Budget will remain in effect.

B. Ooluun

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