Mongolia ruling party wins vote: spokesman

By Irja Halasz

ULAN BATOR (Reuters) - The ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) has won parliamentary elections by a landslide, preliminary results showed on Thursday, after charges of election cheating sparked violence killing five people.

The MPRP took 47 seats out of 76 in the Great Hural, a decisive victory in Sunday's vote, General Election Committee spokesman Nergui told Reuters, as Mongolian authorities cleared away debris in the streets left by the deadly riots earlier in the week.

The opposition Democratic Party had won 26 seats, and the remaining seats were divided between minor parties, Nergui said.

If the opposition concedes defeat, the result would raise hopes for stability after a four-year period of fractious coalition rule that has undermined economic growth and held up long-delayed mining deals seen as key to lifting the windswept Central Asian nation out of poverty.

"These are preliminary results, but official results will be announced tomorrow," Nergui said.

Mongolia's President Nambariin Enkhbayar declared a four-day state of emergency late on Tuesday after the Democratic Party alleged election fraud, sparking riots that left 220 civilians and 108 servicemen injured in addition to the dead.

About 700 protesters have been detained.

International observers say the vote was largely fair.

The Mongolian Justice Ministry vowed a swift investigation into the deaths, three of which were caused by gunshot wounds, and indicated that police were culpable.

"Where these bullets came from is a matter of investigation, Justice Minister Monkh-Orgil told reporters at a briefing in the capital Ulan Bator on Thursday.

"The investigation of homicide crimes will be carried out by prosecutors because of the possible involvement of police. That way we make sure the investigation is independent," he said.

In an apparent attempt to placate the Democratic Party, Monkh-Orgil denied the opposition was responsible for Tuesday's violence and said the rioting had been premeditated.

"Judging by the reaction of the crowd and the rioters, there was a rather organized supply of flammable materials and stones," he said.

Earlier on Thursday, parliament convened an extraordinary session to decide how to move forward after the violence.

"The parliament has debated the declaration of the state of emergency by the president and has approved it," said parliament speaker Lundeejantsan in remarks carried on state television.