ULAN BATOR, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Mongolian parliament speaker Miyegombo Enkhbold again rejected calls for him to resign on Thursday.
Some lawmakers have called for Enkhbold to resign. On Thursday, tens of thousands of Mongolians gathered in the central square of the capital Ulan Bator to protest his alleged conflicts of interest. Organizers said an estimated 50,000 people turned out for the protest.
However, Enkhbold said he will not resign and insisted that he has done nothing wrong.
"The demand is contrary to the law on dismissing a speaker of the parliament. This is an attempt to illegally take the position of the parliament speaker," Enkhbold told the protestors.
According to Mongolian law, a parliament speaker can be dismissed on some legal grounds, namely, death, severe disease, appointment to another position, crime, or decision of dismissal from the constitutional court.
The protest on Thursday came just two weeks after a massive demonstration against Enkhbold.
Audio recordings made public last year suggest some officials of the ruling Mongolian People's Party, including Enkhbold, allegedly used their government positions as a tool to run in the parliamentary election in 2016. The incident gradually led to a political tussle in the Asian country.
More than half of the 76 lawmakers in the parliament and some ministers have boycotted plenary sessions and meetings of standing committees of the parliament over the past six weeks, demanding Enkhbold's resignation.
Prime Minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh also submitted a request to the constitutional court on Nov. 29, 2018, to fire Enkhbold. According to Khurelsukh, Enkhbold has been interfering in the investigation into the case.
In late December, Enkhbold submitted an official request to the prime minister demanding the parliament stop boycotting plenary sessions.
