ULAN BATOR, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Mongolian parliament speaker Miyegombo Enkhbold announced on Friday that he decided to temporarily reject his power to preside plenary sessions of the parliament.
The decision came after more than half of the lawmakers in the 76-seat parliament sent an official letter to Enkhbold, urging him to voluntarily step down from his post.
The lawmakers and ministers have boycotted plenary sessions and meetings of standing committees of the parliament for two weeks, demanding Enkhbold's resignation over alleged conflicts of interest.
"I was legally elected as the speaker of the parliament. I am confident that I did not do anything unethical and illegal," Enkhbold told the parliament.
"However, I decided to temporarily reject my right to preside plenary sessions of the parliament until the parliament's standing committee on state structure will consider issues related to me and make any decision," he said.
Mongolian Prime Minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh also submitted a request to the constitutional court on Nov.29 to dismiss Enkhbold.
Audio recordings were made public last year that 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.
According to Khurelsukh, Enkhbold has been interfering in attempts to properly resolve the case.
