Mongolia cleans up capital under uneasy calm

ULAN BATOR (Reuters) - Mongolian officials cleared awaydebris left by a night of deadly riots as parliament convenedan extraordinary session on Thursday to decide how to moveforward after violence over alleged election fraud.

The violence that followed Sunday's vote has dampened hopesfor a period of stable government to develop the mining sectorand tackle inflation in the vast but thinly populated country,strategically sandwiched between China and Russia.

"The parliament has debated the declaration of the state ofemergency by the president and has approved it," saidparliament speaker Lundeejantsan in remarks carried on statetelevision.

The capital Ulan Bator was calm after President NambariinEnkhbayar declared four days of emergency rule from Tuesdaynight to quell rioters who threw stones, smashed windows andset the headquarters of the ruling Mongolian People'sRevolutionary Party (MPRP) on fire.

The mayor of Ulan Bator said city officials were clearingaway about 40 tonnes of debris left by the rioting, which wassparked by anger over perceived unfairness in the parliamentaryelection, the fifth since Mongolia broke free of decades ofSoviet influence in 1990.

At a regular news conference on Thursday, Chinese ForeignMinistry spokesman Liu Jianchao said China hoped Mongolia couldmaintain stability, adding that he had not heard of any movesto tighten security along the border or to restrict travels.

"As a friendly neighbour of Mongolia's, we hopeChina-Mongolia relations can keep up their sound growth andpersonnel exchanges can remain normal," Liu said.

International observers say the vote was largely fair.

The General Election Committee announced preliminaryresults on national television late on Wednesday.

They did not say specifically to which parties the winnersbelonged, but according to Reuters calculations, the MPRP won45 seats, giving it a comfortable majority in the 76-seatparliament, or Great Hural.

"I think one thing now is very clear -- the electionresults will remain," said Chuluundorj, a retired Mongoliandiplomat. "Maybe there will be disputes about someconstituencies, but the main results can't be changed."

CORRUPTION AND POVERTY

The special session of parliament, which convened late onWednesday, continued on Thursday, with members discussing howto prevent political violence -- rare in Mongolia -- in future.

Speaker Lundeejantsan also spoke of a need to form agovernment in order to move forward with the country'sbusiness, in particular tackling inflation at a decade-high andeasing the poverty that has been blamed in part for therioting.

"Society has been agitated for the last two years becauseof corruption and because of the situation of poor people,"said Chuluundorj.

The uncertain political situation threatens to furtherdelay deals that could unlock vast reserves of copper, coal,uranium and other resources beneath the country's vast steppesand deserts, seen as key to lifting the landlocked CentralAsian state out of poverty.

The biggest project at stake is at Oyu Tolgoi, also knownas Turquoise Hill, backed by Ivanhoe Mines of Canada and RioTinto

The two companies propose to spend up to $3 billiondeveloping the field, which they say could raise Mongolia's GDPby more than a third.

(Writing and additional reporting by Lindsay Beck, BenBlanchard and Guo Shipeng in Beijing; Editing by AlexRichardson)