Protesters later called the entire election into question, with opposition Democrats saying that their party won the poll. Voters stood in long lines Sunday to cast their ballots in an election that focused on how to share the country's mineral wealth. Many hoped the vote would improve their lives in the landlocked, mostly poor country sandwiched between China and Russia.
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| Four dead in Mongolian election riot |
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The MPRP has long been dogged by allegations of corruption and misconduct by officials and is unpopular in the capital.
The president, a member of the MPRP, acknowledged the protesters' complaints over results of the election but appealed for calm.
"Let's sit down and solve the election fraud," Enkhbayar said on national TV.
The speaker of the parliament has called a meeting to address the allegations, but it is not known when that will be. Many members live in rural areas and will have to travel back to the capital.
Protesters also attacked the General Election Commission offices Tuesday night, demanding that officials resign over the alleged voting irregularities. The commission defended the vote, but at least one party called for a re-count in some districts of Ulan Bator.
"The Mongolian people voted for democracy and not for the MPRP, who are ex-communists," said Magnai Otgonjargal, vice chairman of the Civic Movement party.
Mongolia is struggling to modernize its nomadic, agriculture-based economy. The government says per capita income is just US$1,500 a year in the country of about 3 million people spread across an area about three times the size of Spain.
The two main political parties focused their campaigns on how to tap recently discovered mineral deposits - including copper, gold and coal - but disagreed over whether the government or private sector should hold a majority stake.
The MPRP wants the government to hold the majority stake, while the Mongolian Democratic Party says private Mongolian companies should be able to hold it.
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