ULAN BATOR (AFP) - - Soldiers have been taken off the streets of Mongolia's capital following riots that left five people dead, the justice minister said Thursday, as the electoral committee announced victory for the former communists.
"The situation has stabilised and there is no immediate danger of violence so armed forces have been removed from strategic positions and have been replaced by police," Justice Minister Tsend Munkh-Orgil told AFP.
News of the troop removals comes as a spokesman for Mongolia's General Election Committee told AFP on Thursday that the national election won by the former communist party was "fair" after riots broke out amid claims of vote rigging.
"The election was organised well and by law. It was really fair," spokesman Purevdorjiin Naranbat told AFP.
"Some people did not accept that their candidates lost. We counted again and again but it was still the same result so there is nothing wrong."
Armed soldiers had patrolled the streets of the capital on Wednesday after a four-day state of emergency was imposed the night before to quell the protests that erupted amid anger over allegations of rigged national elections.
On Tuesday, around 8,000 people stormed through the centre of Ulan Bator, destroying buildings, torching cars and pelting police with rocks.
The violence left five people dead and 329 injured, Munkh-Orgil told reporters on Wednesday, adding that police had fired tear gas and rubber bullets to quell the unrest.
Border troops and other armed forces were called in to support outmanned police, according to Munhk-Orgil, who said on Wednesday that unnamed groups were planning further demonstrations.
The unrest began after the MPRP claimed victory in Sunday's national elections over the Democratic Party, with which it had shared an uneasy coalition since 2004.
Protesters took to the streets after Democratic Party leader Tsakhia Elbegdorj alleged the MPRP had cheated its way to a supposed win.
The reduced security presence could be clearly seen on the streets of Ulan Bator on Thursday although barricades remained in some places, according to an AFP reporter in the city.
