Mongolia’s president has vetoed a parliamentary resolution to dismiss the country’s prime minister, deepening a political crisis in the resource-rich state.

President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh issued the veto on Monday, three days after parliament voted to oust Prime Minister Gombojav Zandanshatar, who had drawn anger for changing the country’s mineral policy.

Khurelsukh’s office said parliament’s attempt to remove Zandanshatar, a fellow member of the ruling Mongolian People’s Party (MPP), was invalid because it did not have a quorum when it began the session.

“These procedural flaws constitute a breach of the Constitution and compromise the principle of the rule of law,” said the president in a statement cited by the state Montsame news agency.

Mongolia’s constitutional court has scheduled

See Full Page