Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko faced a challenge to his electoral victory on today from international critics and protesters who camped out in the capital overnight accusing him of rigging the count.
Mr Lukashenko (51), in power since 1994 and criticized in the West for authoritarian Soviet-style rule, swept back into office yesterday with an official tally of 82.6 per cent.
Nearest rival Alexander Milinkevich, with 6 per cent, called the poll fraudulent, a view shared widely in the West.
Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko at a news conference in Minsk yesterday
About 300 protesters defied warnings by Mr Lukashenko's state security services and camped out in the early hours in dozens of tents in an action reminiscent of the highly organized 2004 "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine. Supporters brought sleeping bags, food, hot drinks and blankets to them. Tightly controlled state television described the rally as a "crowd of drunken youngsters".
Witnesses said riot police were stationed in sidestreets near the square but there was no sign of any action against the unsanctioned rally, summoned by Mr Milinkevich to demand a rerun of the election and denounce Lukashenko's human rights policies.
"We must stay here while we have the strength to do so. We must stay until victory," Mr Milinkevich told the rally last night.
Mr Lukashenko, who vowed in the election campaign to "wring the necks" of those who threatened public order, said his victory marked the failure of an opposition bid to mount a pro-Western coup. He says his rule has spared Belarus the social turmoil and hardship that has befallen other former Soviet states.
Last night, up to 7,000 protesters gathered in October Square, while 10,000 showed up after polls closed on Sunday evening.
Mr Lukashenko, as well as observers in the West and Moscow, will clearly be watching to see if the protests, unmatched in recent years, continue to dwindle or regain momentum.
The European Union looks set to sharpen sanctions against Belarus after condemning the election as neither free nor fair. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) concluded the poll fell far short of accepted standards.
EU foreign ministers yesterday backed sanctions such as visa bans that could be formalized in April after they have studied in detail the international observers' verdict on the polls.
The United States, which last year described Mr Lukashenko as "Europe's last dictator", said the election had been conducted in a "climate of fear".
Russian President Vladimir Putin, for whom the rise to power of pro-Western governments in Georgia and Ukraine underscored dwindling influence in former Soviet areas, congratulated Mr Lukashenko.