MINSK, March 21 (RIA Novosti) - The group of opposition followers gathered on the central square of the Belarusian capital are continuing their protest of Sunday's presidential election results.
About 200 people, mainly youth, are rallying around a tent camp in downtown Minsk, where they spent Monday night. Unofficial national white-red-white flags and flags representing the opposition, the European Union and even Ukraine and Azerbaijan can been seen flying above the crowd.
The supporters of opposition candidate Alexander Milinkevich, who garnered only 6% of the vote, are calling for a re-run of Sunday's elections, which resulted in the re-election of incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko for a third five-year term with just over 82% of the vote amidst claims of election rigging.
U.S. officials and the OSCE, Europe's major monitoring organization, said they did not recognize the elections as valid, although neighboring Russia said the elections were fair.
"Long live Belarus!" and "Lukashenko to the Hague!" are among the slogans being chanted on the square.
The demonstrators are urging opposition supporters to come to the tent camp, where opposition candidates will hold a meeting later this evening.
The police are taking a hands-off approach and have not reported any disturbances, saying the protest resembles a rock concert more than an opposition rally.
Minsk has been hit by a cold snap over the last 24 hours, with temperatures dipping to -7° Celsius (21°F). Municipal transportation has been operating normally.
