Trending on X, 2 PM: Media spending, TDB statement, Khalzan Buregtei, Zandanshatar lawyers, road delays

These are the 7 topics Mongolian users discussed most on X between 10:13 and 14:26 (Ulaanbaatar time) on October 19, ranked by the likes, reposts and views of the leading posts. On Monday morning the most-discussed subjects were the information and publicity spending in the 2027 budget, glitches in the Trade and Development Bank's new system, and the dispute over the Khalzan Buregtei project. Users also discussed a statement by former Prime Minister G. Zandanshatar's lawyers, delays to road projects in the capital, the Democratic Party chair's proposal on Oyu Tolgoi shares, and Hakuho M. Davaajargal's election as president of the international sumo federation. Only 7 real, verified topics emerged in this window, so we did not pad the list to 10. There were also posts on National Anthem Day, the riots in France, Putin's summit proposal, the Al Jazeera documentary and the district governors, but we left them out because nothing new had happened since earlier roundups. We also removed posts that accused named individuals or contained information that could not be verified. Figures are as of 14:26.

1. Media spending: MP Ch. Lodoisambuu proposes cutting ₮26.4bn from the 2027 budget (new development)

The dispute in the media sector, the top topic of the morning roundup, turned to the budget before noon. In the most-engaged post of the window, MP Ch. Lodoisambuu said he was submitting a dissenting proposal to remove a total of ₮26.386bn of "media" spending from the 2027 state budget, and shared a photo of the document.

According to an iKon.mn report published today, the draft 2027 budget allocates ₮26.4bn to information and publicity spending, ₮8.9bn more than the ₮17.4bn in 2026. Of that, ₮9.3bn would come from the state budget, ₮15.8bn from local budgets and ₮1.2bn from the Social Insurance Fund. M. Sanjaadorj, State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, said the money is meant for publicising laws and is spent through contracts with media outlets, and that contracts above ₮20m must go to tender by law. In an earlier interview with LiveTV.mn, Lodoisambuu said that "there is no such thing as a free press with a cooperation contract with the state". Full story on egov.mn (in Mongolian): https://www.egov.mn/mn/article/2027-ony-tosovt-medeelel-surtalchilgaany-zardal-264-terbum-togrogt-hurne

2. Trade and Development Bank apologises for problems with its new system (new development)

The Trade and Development Bank (TDB) moved to a new core banking system over the weekend, as reported yesterday. On the first working day, customers began writing about trouble logging in. @LutochirT complained that the new app shows errors, loads slowly and that account numbers had been changed, while @tsbat_IT welcomed the changes as a step towards keeping customers' money more secure.

In its statement, the bank said that because many customers were using the new app at the same time, there were delays in logging in, recovering usernames and passwords and some other services, and it apologised. Old account numbers remain valid and the new 10-digit numbers can also be used. The bank said its technical teams are working to stabilise the system. Earlier story (in Mongolian): https://www.egov.mn/mn/article/hudaldaa-hogzhliin-bank-shine-suur-burtgeliin-sistemd-hugacaanaas-omno-shilzhiv

3. Khalzan Buregtei dispute continues as residents' objections and the Prime Minister's response spread (new development)

The previous roundup mentioned Prime Minister N. Uchral's working visit to Khovd aimag. In this window, videos from meetings there were widely shared. In a video posted by Elch.mn, a resident says: "Everything you are saying is a lie. Have you ever been to Khalzan Buregtei? Leave us with our land." In a video from iQ.mn, herder Ch. Altangadas says a two-headed calf was born in his herd and that "uranium is doom". Prime Minister N. Uchral is quoted as saying: "We will develop by approaching the issue scientifically. Rare earth elements are a strategically important resource at the centre of global attention. Decisions on the Khalzan Buregtei project will be based on research, evidence, conclusions and proposals, not emotion."

Claims also circulated on social media that someone had found harmful radiation with their own instrument, but these could not be independently verified. According to News.mn and Urug.mn, at a public hearing in Parliament on September 23, 2025, specialist agencies reported a maximum measured radiation level of 1.67 μSv/h at the site, below harmful levels, and a uranium content of 0.009%, describing it as a rare-earth deposit rather than a uranium deposit. At the time, no radiation-related cause had been found for birth defects in livestock.

4. G. Zandanshatar's lawyers say they will ask the anti-corruption agency to examine five officials

B. Enkh-Erdene, a lawyer for former Prime Minister G. Zandanshatar, told reporters today that he is asking the Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC) and law-enforcement bodies to examine former Speaker D. Amarbayasgalan, former Deputy Prime Minister S. Amarsaikhan and MPs E. Bolormaa, P. Sainzorig and Kh. Bulgantuya. In his view, they linked Zandanshatar without evidence to corruption, abuse of office, a drug network and certain mineral deposits. These are statements by the lawyer's side, and the positions of the people named could not be included in this roundup. Full story: https://www.egov.mn/en/article/g-zandanshatars-lawyers-say-they-will-ask-anti-corruption-agency-to-examine-five-officials

5. Mayor B. Purevdagva: contractors and officials who miss road deadlines will be held accountable

Governor of the Capital City and Mayor of Ulaanbaatar B. Purevdagva criticised delays to road projects funded by the World Bank and other sources at a meeting of the capital's senior officials, LiveTV.mn and iKon.mn reported. According to iKon.mn, he said there had been many violations by MCRS LLC, which is building a 2.5 km road along the Selbe river, and singled out the back road of Unur district and the road south of Yarmag as far too slow, ordering measures up to and including replacing the contractors. Officials also reported that repairs to roads at 34 locations inside residential areas of six districts are 53% complete.

6. DP chair O. Tsogtgerel: every citizen could receive ₮10m in Oyu Tolgoi shares (new development)

The Oyu Tolgoi dividend was discussed in earlier roundups. Today Democratic Party (DP) chair O. Tsogtgerel presented his own proposal, and it was shared widely. According to MassTV.mn, he said each citizen could receive ₮10m worth of Oyu Tolgoi shares plus dividends, so that citizens would own property and get their share of the country's wealth. He called the government's public consultation a "pretend show" and said the issue would be resolved once the DP wins power. These are the proposals of a party leader, and the calculations behind them could not be independently verified.

7. Hakuho M. Davaajargal elected president of the International and Asian sumo federations

According to MONTSAME, GoGo.mn and UBN.mn, Hakuho M. Davaajargal, the 69th yokozuna of Japanese professional sumo and a Hero of Labour, was elected president of both the International Sumo Federation (IFS) and the Asian Sumo Federation at a meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, on October 16. He said: "My mission is to join forces with people who practise sumo around the world and to unite the world through sumo, beyond differences of country, culture and language." More (in Mongolian): https://www.egov.mn/mn/article/hakuho-mdavaazhargal-olon-ulsyn-sumogiin-holboony-eronhiilogchoor-songogdloo

Methodology: We ranked posts from about 200 major news and influential accounts found through X search, plus more than 50 keyword searches, by an engagement score (likes + 2× reposts + views/100), and checked the facts against news sites. Posts that could not be verified or that carried a risk of defamation were left out. Views expressed by individuals on X do not represent the position of egov.mn.