The FINANCIAL — YEREVAN. Nikol Pashinan, the leader of massive protests demanding change in Armenia, has called demonstrators back into the streets to monitor a parliamentary vote to elect a new prime minister, warning the ruling party may try to thwart the process.
In a live broadcast on May 1, Pashinian, the only candidate in the election, accused the ruling Republican Party (HHK) of former Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian of preparing to disrupt the special session of parliament, called after Sarkisian stepped down last week.
Pashinian, 42, has already secured the support of all opposition factions in parliament and reminded the Republican Party, which holds 58 seats in the 105-member parliament, of its pledge not to “obstruct” his bid, according to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
“We were just informed that during a meeting overnight headed by Serzh Sarkisian, the Republicans decided to impede the election of the prime minister,” Pashinian said in the video, broadcast live on Facebook.
“I urge all of you to get up early in the morning and gather early in the morning in the Republic Square to counteract the new plan of Serzh Sarkisian and the Republican Party,” he added.
In the run-up to the vote, the Republic Party has said it would not hinder the election of Pashinian if the other factions in parliament support his candidacy.
However, Republican Party spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov said on May 1 that the party will make a final decision on how it will vote only after familiarizing itself with Pashinian’s program.
“The leader of the Republican Party faction will announce our decision before the vote,” Sharmazanov was quoted by Armenpress as saying.
More than two weeks of peaceful antigovernment protests led by Pashinian forced Sarkisian to step down as prime minister after he was Armenia’s president for a decade.
Term limits forced him to step down in March, but lawmakers elected him as prime minister in April, a move that came after legal changes that weakened the presidency’s power while bolstering the prime minister’s.
Opponents of Sarkisian launched the protests, which brought thousands of Armenians out into the streets, saying the new system would have allowed Sarkisian to remain Armenia’s leader indefinitely.
With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, Interfax, and TASS
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