MONGOLIA:Protesters alleging fraud in Mongolia's weekend election yesterday clashed with police and set fire to the headquarters of the ruling party, while the leader of the opposition said he would not accept the projected outcome.
Witnesses said windows were smashed and black smoke was billowing out of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) building in the capital, Ulan Bator, and thousands more were gathered on the main square in the heart of the city.
Mongolia's election committee has yet to give the final result of Sunday's vote, but the MPRP is believed to have won at least 43 seats in the 76-seat parliament, or Great Hural, giving it a clear majority.
"We do not accept these results," Democratic Party leader Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj said earlier yesterday. "No one needs these kinds of results, and they will be corrected in accordance with law."
International observers say that overall, the election - in a country of vast grasslands and deserts that is a rare example of democracy in Central Asia - was free and fair.
But new election rules that changed the first-past-the-post system to one of multi-member constituencies have led to procedural problems and some confusion over how votes should be counted.
Mr Elbegdorj said his party had called its candidates from around the country to Ulan Bator, where they intended to present details of election fraud.
Protesters began by marching peacefully, but by evening people were throwing stones at riot police and blocking fire trucks from coming to the site of the burning MPRP building.
A prolonged dispute could further delay the ratification of long-awaited agreements that would allow production to go ahead on a massive copper and gold project, the revenue from which could change the country.
Both the Democratic Party and the MPRP, which ruled Mongolia as a Soviet satellite for much of the last century, say they support the mining agreement.
But the past four years of unstable coalition government has meant neither has had the mandate to see it through parliament. - (Reuters)