In a speech on Friday, Svetlana Tichanovskaya called on the mayors of Belarus to organize peaceful rallies in protest of the elections held in the country last week, reports Reuters.

At the same time, she appealed to the citizens to sign a demand for a vote count and an investigation into the allegations of electoral fraud.

Located in Lithuania

Tikhanovskaya challenged Alexander Lukashenko for power in Sunday's presidential election, but lost when Lukashenko once again secured the presidency, winning his sixth term since 1994.

However, according to international observers, free and fair elections have not been held in Belarus for decades, and Tikhanovskaya does not recognize the result.

Since the election, thousands of outraged protesters have taken to the streets of the capital Minsk in protest and in support of Tikhanovskaya.

On Tuesday, Tikhanovskaya left Belarus and is now in Lithuania.

EU in meeting

On Friday, the news also came that EU Commission President Ursula van der Leyen wants to impose sanctions on the country. The Union's Foreign Ministers are meeting digitally today in response to developments in Belarus.

EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell on Tuesday stated that Belarus's presidential election was neither "free nor fair" and warned that the union could take "action against those responsible for the violence we have seen, the unjust arrests and the electoral fraud".