Five people were killed and more than 300 others injured in riots in Mongolia's capital which broke out over alleged election fraud, Justice Minister Tsend Monkhorgil said Wednesday. The riots were now under control, Monkhorgil told a press conference. Some 1,000 people marched in Ulan Bator Tuesday, in protest against alleged voting fraud in Sunday's parliamentary elections.
The protesters broke into the headquarters of the ruling Mongolian Revolutionary People's Party (MPRP) and set fire to some rooms of the building. They also set ablaze part of the Central Cultural Palace building and five cars in the streets, the minister said.
Rioting continued into early Wednesday morning and more than 1,800 police were called in to dispel protesters with rubber bullets and teargas. A total of 708 protesters were arrested.
Mongolian President Nambariin Enkhbayar on Tuesday declared a four-day state of emergency in the capital, during which protests are banned and police could use force to break up protests. Army troops were seen moving into the center of Ulan Bator to boost security and the downtown area of the capital has been cordoned off.
Mongolia's parliamentary elections were held last Sunday. The final results are yet to be released, but preliminary results showed the MPRP had won more than half of the seats in the 76-member parliament.