Minsk: Several thousand factory workers took to the streets of Minsk on Monday, demanding the resignation of authoritarian Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. It was the ninth straight day of protesting against the results of an election that extended his 26-year rule.
Nearly 5,000 workers from the Minsk Tractor Works plant, which has been on strike since Monday morning, marched down the streets of Minsk, demanding that Lukashenko step down and cede his post to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leading opposition candidate.
The official results of the August 9 vote gave Lukashenko 80 per cent of the votes and Tsikhanouskaya only 10 per cent, but the opposition claimed the vote was rigged.
Lukashenko is a former president, he needs to go, Sergei Dylevsky, the leader of the protest at the Minsk Tractor Works plant, told The Associated Press on Monday. Sveta (Tsikhanouskaya) is our president, legitimate and elected by the people. (AP)