Warmer weather on Wednesday raised spirits at the encampment, basking in sunlight after days of biting winds and intermittent snow. But harassment and intimidation by authorities took their toll.
In late afternoon, four large medical vehicles appeared on the square and a water truck with hoses was parked in a position where it could spray the crowd.
This was apparently part of an operation by city workers to weld shut the manhole demonstrators have been using as a toilet after warning they would return with police if they were turned away.
The vehicles later left, but the episode caused anxiety and raised fears that police would seek to thin the ranks of protesters by detaining people if they left to use a bathroom.
According to the official vote count, Lukashenko won a new five-year term with nearly 83 percent. Milinkevich, who electoral officials said received 6 percent, called the incumbent's tally "monstrously inflated."
In an interview on Tuesday he said a new election should be held, with Lukashenko barred from running.
Western governments and organizations have denounced the election as undemocratic. Diplomats from 11 EU countries were called to the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday to hear criticism of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe observer team's negative assessment of the vote, ministry spokesman Andrei Popov said.
The monitors' conclusions "distort reality," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement that called the election "open and democratic."
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