Calm in Mongolia as emergency rule nears end

Troops began pulling back from the streets of the Mongolian capital on Saturday ahead of the lifting of a state of emergency that had been declared after rioting over alleged election fraud.

There was no sign of the tension that gripped the capital, Ulan Bator, just a few days ago, when stone-throwing mobs set the ruling party's headquarters on fire in a night of violence that killed five people and prompted the president to declare emergency rule for the first time in Mongolia's history.

A trickle of foreign tourists returned on Saturday, with two tour buses stopping in the city's central square to snap photos. Soldiers patrolling the streets walked about casually, smoking cigarettes and chatting with each other.

But behind closed doors, the opposition Democratic Party was still pressing for a re-run of last Sunday's election in some areas. Their demands could spell more instability in the windswept Central Asian nation after four years of fractious coalition rule that has undermined economic growth and held up mining deals seen as key to lifting the country out of poverty.

The relaxed atmosphere in Ulan Bator caused some confusion about whether the state of emergency was still in effect, but the government said that it would be enforced until late Saturday night (1530 GMT), exactly four days after it was declared.

"The state of emergency will be lifted tonight," Foreign Minister Sanjaasuren Oyun told Reuters. "Any other interpretation is a miscalculation."

Mongolian officials earlier told Reuters that the emergency rule would not be extended any further.

The General Election Committee said an official vote result would not come until Monday at the earliest. An initial count showed the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party taking 47 seats out of 76 in the Great Hural, or parliament, with 26 seats for the Democratic Party and the remainder divided between smaller parties.

The Democratic Party levelled accusations of cheating and has demanded a re-vote in some constituencies. Its leaders are expected to formally state their demands on Tuesday.

International observers say the election, in a country that is seen as a rare example of democracy in Central Asia, was largely free and fair, even though there was some confusion over a new system of multi-member constituencies.

The last election in 2004 resulted in a hung parliament and troubled coalition rule. Further political uncertainty could hold up major mining deals that could unlock the vast reserves of copper, coal, uranium and other resources beneath the country's vast steppes and deserts.

The biggest project at stake is at Oyu Tolgoi, also known as Turquoise Hill, backed by Ivanhoe Mines of Canada and Rio Tinto.