Calm returns to Ulan Bator under state of emergency

Ulan Bator - Calm has returned to Mongolia's capital Ulan Bator Thursday after post-election rioting alleging fraud left five dead and the imposition of a state of emergency.

Preliminary results released by the election commission indicate that the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) won 46 of the 76 seats in Sunday's parliamentary elections.

The rival Democratic Party won just 26 seats in the State Great Khural, or parliament. Election observers have reported indications of fraud, including ghosts or absentees who did not live at the registered address.

Mongolian President Nambariin Enkhbayar declared a four-day state of emergency Wednesday amid violent riots that left at least five people dead and 300 injured. The demonstrations also saw the headquarters of the MPRP torched and police detained 700 protestors.

The capital was calm on Thursday morning. A curfew is in place from 10 pm to 8 am.

How to handle the rights to recently discovered mineral deposits - including copper, gold and coal - were the basis of the campaigns for the two political parties.

With a large majority, the ruling party will be able to pass the current Minerals Law which gives the government the right to take an interest of as much as 51 per cent in an important mineral deposit if state funds were used to discover it.

The Mongolian Democratic Party says private Mongolian companies should be able to hold the majority stake. (dpa)