CHRONOLOGY: Election wrangling in Mongolia's lively democracy

(Reuters) - A four-day state of emergency was declared in Mongolia late on Tuesday, after a riot in the capital Ulan Bator over alleged election fraud killed five people.

About 700 protesters were detained in the unrest that followed a general election.

Vast, windswept Mongolia is sandwiched between China and Russia.

Here is a short chronology of Mongolian elections and frequent leadership changes since the country emerged from decades of Soviet influence in 1990.

* 1990: Hunger strikes and anti-government street protests force ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) to hold first democratic elections in July. The ex-communists score resounding victory to become Mongolia's first democratically elected parliament.

* 1992: Second parliamentary election; MPRP wins.

* July 1, 1996: MPRP's more than seven-decade rule ends as the Democratic Union Coalition, an alliance of the two main democratic parties, wins more than half the seats in parliament.

* July 2, 2000: Wave of popular anger against the bitterly divided coalition government and economic measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund sweeps MPRP back to power with 72 of 76 seats in parliament, or Great Hural. Moderate reformer Nambariin Enkhbayar named prime minister.

* May 20, 2001: MPRP hardliner Natsagiin Bagabandi elected president, vows to cooperate with Enkhbayar to maintain reforms.