Mongolia MPs vote out government

The protesters failed to save the government

Mongolia's parliament has voted to dissolve the coalition government after debating late into the night.

The crisis began on Wednesday, when 10 ministers from the largest party - the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) - tendered their resignations.

The move triggered protests on Thursday in support of the government of Prime Minister Tsakhia Elbegdorj.

Thirty-nine of the 76 MPs voted against the government, while 37 abstained, the leader of an opposition party said.

"Parliament will reconvene either on Wednesday or Thursday when... a new government will be formed," Sanjaasuren Oyun, leader of the Civil Will party, told AFP news agency.

Fluid politics

Pavements around the MPRP headquarters in the capital, Ulan Bator, remain littered with broken glass, after protesters tried to storm the building.

The MPRP cited slow economic growth, inflation and corruption when it withdrew support.

The move meant that more than half the members of the cabinet had resigned.

The MPRP, led by President Nambar Enkhbayar, holds 38 of the parliament's 76 seats, while the rival Democratic Party, led by Mr Elbegdorj, holds 34.

The mass resignations were widely seen as a bid to sideline the Democrats and regain total control of the government.

Politics have been fluid but relatively peaceful in Mongolia since democracy was introduced in 1991.