Members of Parliament have submitted a draft law to establish criteria for political officials’ appointment.
“There are about 200 thousand civil servants in Mongolia, of which more than 3800 of them are political officials. These political officials have been appointed for the last 30 years without any criteria or requirements. We are submitting draft law to amend Law on Civil Service which will further make amendments to relevant laws including Law on Administrative Territorial Units, the Law on Political Parties, the Law on Government, and the Law on Parliamentary Procedures to set criteria for political officials’ appointment. In the last 30 years, there have been no set criteria for political officials. The criteria for political officials must be set high, thus the draft law raises the requirements for appointing said officials. Political officials’ assistant, adviser, secretary, and governors, senior government officials, such as Minister, Deputy Minister and even the Prime Minister are appointed without any criteria. Career, knowledge, experience, ethics, and accountability have not been required for appointing political officials in the last 30 years. It is time to reform the term ‘political official’” said Mr. Temuulen, Member of the Parliament.
Mr. Bat-Erdene, MP also added “We are raising the issue of citizenship, education, and health of the people to be appointed as political officials. One of the criteria states that the political official shall not be linked with corruption or misconduct. There is also a provision that states ‘there should be no abnormalities or behavioral disorders’. Political parties will nominate their nominees based on these criteria.”
“Political officials are often involved in corruption, conflicts of interest, misconduct, and unprofessionalism. There are special requirements for the Minister, Deputy Minister, and the Head of the President’s Office. These include professionalism, having at least four years of experience in the relevant sector, having at least four years of experience in the civil service, professional ethics, integrity, gender equality, respect for human rights, non-interference, independent decision-making, and accountability. There are also special requirements for governors at all levels. These include having experience of working in the local area for at least two years, having at least four years of experience in the civil service, being aware of professional ethics, upholding justice, and holding public hearings and discussions when appointing said officials. It is also the first time that a disciplinary sanction has been introduced for political officials.” stated Mr.Munkhbaatar, Member of the Parliament.
According to the Law on Civil Service of Mongolia, positions such as Prime Minister, Head of the President's Office, Advisor to the Prime Minister, and Governor at all levels are considered as political officials. Thus, setting criteria for political officials will intensify Mongolia's fight against nepotism and cronyism and can make a valuable contribution to effective anti-corruption activity.
