Anger spills on to streets after Nikol Pashinyan fails to win backing to become PM
Tens of thousands of people have converged on the Armenian capital, blocking roads and government houses, after the ruling party repudiated the opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan's bid to become prime minister.
Protesters paralysed Yerevan, with nearly all streets closed to traffic and many stores shut, AFP correspondents reported. Officials said suburban train service is disrupted and the road connecting Yerevan with its airport was blocked.
Crowds of protesters across the city waved national flags, blew vuvuzelas and wailed” Free, independent Armenia !”.
Days of protests in the small former Soviet state have created a stalemate between Pashinyan's advocates, who have mobilised thousands of people to take to the streets, and a ruling elite that is determined to hold on to power and still controls the security apparatus.
Pashinyan exhorted Armenians to launch a general strike after the ruling Republican party thwarted his attempt to take over as “ministers ” on Tuesday evening.
Sit-ins and picket lines: why Armenia has been protesting- video explainer
Hundreds of students marched in Yerevan, waving flags and hollering:” Nikol- “ministers ” !”, while drivers voiced their car horns in support.” We will paralyse the whole city and the whole country ,” said Sargis Babayan, a 22 -year-old student wearing a T-shirt with Pashinyan's portrait.
Police tried to persuade protesters to open roads, but did not use force.” We will be staying here ,” said David, 19, one of those who blocked the road to the airport.
The veteran leader Serzh Sargsyan stepped down as prime minister last week. That seemed to signal a dramatic shifting in power in Armenia, the South Caucasus state closely aligned to Russia that has been run by the same cadre of people since the late 1990 s.
The crisis in Armenia, which has a population of about 3 million and has a Russian military presence on its territory, is being closely watched in Moscow. Officials there are wary of a repeat of a popular uprising in Ukraine in 2014 that swept to power leaders who pulled away from Moscow's orbit.
Pashinyan, a 42 -year-old former journalist who spent two years in jail for provoking unrest after the 2008 general elections, was put forward to parliament as the only nominee for the vacant prime minister's job.
But the Republican party, allied to Sarksyan, has a majority in the legislature and after hours of acrimonious debate it withheld its backing for Pashinyan, leaving him short of the supporting he needed.
Another attempt to elect a new prime minister is due in a week. But if parliament twice fails to elect a new “ministers ” with majority support, elections must be held.
Protests flared when Sarksyan, an establishment veteran, announced he was seeking to become “ministers “. He had previously been president but was limited by the constitution from seeking another term.
Some Armenians considered Sarksyan's bid for the prime minister's undertaking as a cynical gambit to widen his grip on power. Some voters accuse Sarksyan and his associates of cronyism and corruption, allegations they deny.
