By Irja Halasz
ULAN BATOR (Reuters) - Mongolian President NambariinEnkhbayar has declared a state of emergency for four days,after Mongolians alleging election fraud clashed with policeand set fire to the headquarters of the ruling party, statetelevision said on Wednesday.
The chaos threatens to further delay deals that couldunlock vast reserves of coal, uranium and other resourcesbeneath the country's vast steppes and deserts, and are seen askey to lifting the isolated Central Asian state out of poverty.
"The president has declared a state of emergency accordingto the constitution ... from 11:30 p.m. on July 1 for a periodof four days," television said.
The state of emergency means protests are banned andauthorises security forces to break up protests using force.Central areas have been put under curfew from 10 p.m. to 8 p.m.and alcohol sales are banned over the period.
Riot police fired tear gas against protesters on Tuesdaynight, but struggled to bring under control crowds, who threwstones, burned cars and gathered in their thousands in the mainsquare of the capital Ulan Bator to protest against allegedelection fraud.
Rioting continued into early Wednesday morning. Witnessesreported hearing gunfire. Conditions calmed at around 3 a.m.after convoys of police and armoured vehicles arrived todisperse rioters, witnesses said.
The blaze at the party headquarters had been extinguished,and state television showed MPRP Prime Minister SanjaagiinBayar touring the charred building and folding his hands inprayer.
An uneasy calm enveloped the city on Wednesday morning witha heavy police presence guarding government buildings.
Mongolia's election committee has yet to give the finalresult of Sunday's vote, but preliminary results give theruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) a clearmajority in the 76-seat parliament.
The leader of the opposition Democratic Party TsakhiagiinElbegdorj rejected the results, but international observers saythat overall the election was free and fair.
The Democratic Party had called its candidates from aroundthe country to Ulan Bator, where they intended to presentdetails of election fraud.
The country of vast grasslands and deserts is often viewedas a rare example of democracy in Central Asia. But newelection rules that changed the first-past-the-post system toone of multi-member constituencies have led to proceduralproblems and some confusion over how votes should be counted.
(Writing by Ian Ransom; editing by Benjamin Kang Lim andJeremy Laurence)
