ULAN BATOR, Mongolia (AP) — Mongolia's prime minister was appointed chief of the country's ruling party Thursday in a move to consolidate his power at a time when the country's capital has been rocked by protests.

Prime Minister Batbold Sukhbaatar replaced Bayar Sanjaa as head of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party after the former prime minister resigned, citing health reasons, during a meeting of the ruling council, the party's press service said. Bayar Sanjaa nominated Batbold Sukhbaatar to replace him as the party chairman.

Mongolia's leaders "need to secure the economic development of the country and create a favorable environment for business," Bayar Sanjaa said. "P.M. Batbold can handle this task. The nomination of Batbold as party chairman is what the society wants."

Bayar Sanjaa stepped down as prime minister in October last year, also due to his health, and the post was assumed by Batbold Sukhbaatar, one of the country's wealthiest men and a former foreign minister, who pledged to continue the pro-business policies of his predecessor.

Bayar Sanjaa's resignation as head of the ruling party paves the way for Batbold Sukhbaatar to strengthen his influence in the impoverished but resource-rich nation. The MPRP, which ran Mongolia as communists until 1990, holds 46 seats in the 76-seat parliament, with another 27 held by the opposition Democratic Party.

The move comes as the government faces growing public pressure over the unequal distribution of the country's mining wealth. Ulan Bator has been embroiled in protests that began on Monday with more than 5,000 demonstrators, many from rural areas and the slums of Ulan Bator, demanding that parliament be dissolved and promised aid be handed out.

On Thursday, the pressure continued as about 70 protesters staged a sit-in at Ulan Bator's central square. "The authorities are selling Mongolian land to foreigners. The parties got our votes by promising a share of the country's wealth," said one of the protesters, Tserendejid Gendensuren, a herder from Zavkhan province. "These people must go."

Parliament rejected the demonstrators' demands to dissolve itself, saying in a statement Thursday: "Parliament cannot be dissolved by a group of people. It is up to voters and Mongolian people to decide whether to dissolve the parliament."

In response, protest leaders announced they would stage a hunger strike until parliament agrees to conduct a national referendum on the dissolution.

Monday's rally, which was largely peaceful, was the biggest in Ulan Bator since July 2008 when five people were killed and more than 200 hurt in riots over alleged election fraud.