The main challenger in Belarus's disputed presidential election says she's ready to take over the country's leadership after a wave of protests against long-time President Alexander Lukashenko, EDNews.net reports citing AFP.
"I did not want to be a politician. But fate decreed that I'd find myself on the frontline of a confrontation against arbitrary rule and injustice," Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said in a new video from exile in Lithuania on Monday.
"I am ready to take responsibility and act as a national leader during this period."
The video was released after over 100,000 people took to the streets of Minsk on Sunday for the biggest demonstration in the country's history against Lukashenko's claim to have won the August 9 election with 80 percent of the vote.
Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old political novice who ran after other potential candidates including her husband were jailed, accuses Lukahsenko of rigging the election and has called for a new vote.
Since leaving for neighbouring Lithuania last week, under pressure from the government according to her allies, she has been calling for demonstrations and justice for a brutal police crackdown on protesters.