ULAN BATOR, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Mongolian parliament Wednesday confirmed Khurelsukh Ukhnaa as the country's new prime minister.
All 47 lawmakers present, including members of the opposition Mongolian Democratic Party, and unanimously voted for the nominee of the ruling People's Party of Mongolia to become the new head of government.
Late last month, the ruling party chose then acting Deputy Prime Minister Khurelsukh as candidate for new prime minister after dismissing his predecessor over alleged incompetence and corruption.
During his confirmation hearing, the new prime minister vowed to fight rampant corruption and cronyism among the Mongolian ruling elites and top government officials.
He vowed to root out improper political practices, saying he would strictly demand the implementation of laws and the upholding of the highest ethical standards at all levels of government.
Dale Choi, an analyst at Mongolian Altan Bumba Financial Group described Khurelsukh as an "ambitious, strong leader who wants to go down in history as man who sorted out the country."
The analyst foresees tough work is ahead of the prime minister considering Mongolia's internal and external debt now equals 73.8 percent of its GDP.
Confirmation of Khurelsukh saw conflict within the ruling party. Thirty two lawmakers of the ruling party which did not vote for dismissal of the previous government, boycotted the parliamentary hearing and did not participate in the confirmation.
Last month, lawmakers demanded that former Prime Minister Jargaltulga Erdenebat resign for allegedly violating parliamentary procedures through the granting of contracts worth the equivalent of 328 million U.S. dollars to companies linked to three cabinet members.
Khurelsukh began his career as a political specialist at the central committee of the Mongolian People's Party. Ukhnaa served as minister for emergency situations from 2004 to 2006 and party general secretary from 2008 to 2012.
