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ULAN BATOR: Heavily armed soldiers patrolled the capital of Mongolia Wednesday after a state of emergency was declared to quell deadly protests that erupted amid outrage over disputed national elections.
Five people were killed and about 329 injured during the riots that saw thousands of protesters destroy buildings and cars as they stormed through Ulan Bator on Tuesday, the justice minister said Wednesday.
The Soviet-era headquarters of the formerly communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) that claimed victory in the weekend elections was still smouldering after being set alight and looted in the unrest.
As the protests erupted, Prime Minister Sanjagiin Bayar, of the MPRP, accused the rival Democrats of inciting the violence by unfairly alleging Sunday's parliamentary elections had been rigged.
"The other party is accusing us of buying the election. It's not true, the election was free and fair," he said from the MPRP headquarters before it was ransacked.
An AFP reporter who walked through the city on Wednesday saw dozens of soldiers with rifles standing guard outside the MPRP headquarters, as well as other military personnel and vehicles patrolling the centre of the city.
Mongolian President Nambariin Enkhbayar declared a four-day state of emergency late on Tuesday to end the rioting, implementing security measures that included a ban on alcohol sales and restrictions on the press.
A night-time curfew was also imposed while traffic was prohibited from passing through the centre of Ulan Bator where the worst of the violence erupted.
Police had been forced to fire bullets and tear gas to quell the unrest, according to an AFP reporter on the scene and other witnesses who estimated the rioting mob to be about 6,000 strong.
However it was impossible to immediately confirm further details about the four people that national television had reported killed.
Mongolia, a landlocked nation of nearly three million people, has a history of political intrigue and turmoil, after emerging from 70 years as a Soviet satellite and holdings its first democratic elections in 1992.
However the violence was among the worst the nation - famous for its ancient warrior history under Genghis Khan - had seen since adopting a democratic model, and many people in Ulan Bator were left disenchanted.
"I sincerely appreciate my country and its history but I think this was an unfair election," said Denzin Chuluunbaatar, 45, a social worker, who was walking through the city on Wednesday.
"The politicians are not thinking about the country, they just think about themselves... It's just a small country so we can't fight each other. It would be terrible if there was a civil war."
Prime Minister Bayar identified Democratic Party leader Tsakhia Elbegdorj of inciting the unrest by making his allegations of electoral fraud.
Elbegdorj had indeed bluntly accused the MPRP in a press conference on Tuesday of "illegal activities" that robbed the Democrats of victory.
"People voted for democracy, ask eight of 10 people and they will say they voted for the Democratic Party. We lost because... corrupt people changed the results," he told reporters.
"This was a dark moment in the history of Mongolia."
The MPRP, which ruled during the Soviet years, had claimed to have won 45 seats in the 76-seat Great Hural. State press said the Democrats had won 21 seats.
However the General Election Committee has yet to make a formal announcement on the ballot, and an official declaration from it could spark further anger.
"The results are not ready yet," committee spokesman Purevdorjiin Naranbat told AFP. He was unable to say when the results would be announced.
In 2004, Mongolia's last general election, the MPRP and the Democrats were forced into a coalition that produced three different prime ministers.
- AFP/yb
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