Why Mongolians Are Protesting Despite Low COVID Numbers

Mongolia’s prime minister has resigned following protests triggered by public outrage over the authority’s epidemic control measures, even as the country has recorded one of the lowest COVID case numbers. 

The country of 3 million people, bordering Russia and China, had recorded zero local coronavirus transmissions until November. But a truck driver from Russia led to a local cluster, prompting the government to order a lockdown in capital Ulaanbaatar later that month.

A number of other clusters followed, exposing flaws in the country’s border controls and quarantine procedures. The country has so far recorded 1,592 confirmed cases and two deaths. 

The Wednesday demonstration, attended by thousands of people in the capital, was triggered by a video showing a woman, dressed in her nightgown, and her baby being transferred to a quarantine facility in freezing temperatures.

Protesters say the case is only an example of the government’s overall mishandling of the pandemic and the struggling economy. 

Zolboo Naranbaatar, a 42-year-old entrepreneur in Ulaanbaatar, told VICE World News he joined the protest on Wednesday because he was angry to see people rounded up like criminals and detained in quarantine facilities. 

He demanded the removal of the leadership of the State Emergency Commission, which is in charge of COVID response. 

Although Mongolia was praised for keeping the COVID infections at a low level, the government’s harsh contagion control measures, a ban on commercial flights that left many citizens stranded abroad, and economic uncertainties have led to widespread discontent. 

“Citizens had to face almost a year of uncertainty,” said a 30-year-old protester, who declined to provide his name. “Lots of companies fired people, causing unemployment and poverty.”

“The State Commission of Emergency has failed many times, and their attitude toward citizens was rude. The ruling party has failed to contain the virus spread.”

A day after the protest, Prime Minister Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, with the ruling Mongolian People’s Party, submitted his resignation together with his cabinet. In a speech, he accused President Battulga Khaltmaa, from the rival Democratic Party, of orchestrating the protests, according to Bloomberg. 

Under Mongolia’s parliamentary democracy, the party with the most seats is entitled to form a government and choose the premier. The country also elects, by popular vote, a president who can veto government bills. 

The resignation has come as a shock, prompting suspicions that Khurelsukh is only trying to undermine his political rival and protect the popularity of his own party. 

“The COVID situation is unraveling, the economy is in the pits,” Naranbaatar, the protester, said, “and he [the prime minister] is exiting while the public perception still remains positive.”

Naranbaatar said he would go out again if the situation did not improve. The recent temperature of -11 to -9 degrees Celsius, which he describes as “rather mild” compared with the usual temperature of -20 degrees this time of the year, has made demonstrations easier, he said. 

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