After weeks of political turmoil and mass protests in Armenia, the opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan was selected as the country's new prime minister by parliament on Tuesday. Tens of thousands of people celebrated his appointment in the capital Yerevan. Aljosa Milenkovic reports.

In many aspects, this was a landmark moment in Armenia's recent history. Parliament voting for a new prime minister, whom was partly supported by former ruling party, the Republicans. The news was greeted with joy on the streets of Yerevan. Drivers honked their horns as they drove past the Parliament building, and tens of thousands of people gathered in the central Republic Square to celebrate.

ALJOSA MILENKOVIC YEREVAN "All around me, people are partying, with the sound of local popular music blaring from loudspeakers in Republic Square here in Yerevan. They hope their new prime minister will bring them changes that, they say Armenia desperately needs."

YEREVAN CITIZEN "We fought all these days for change in the country and in the end we won, so we came here to celebrate victory."

YEREVAN CITIZEN "We came on this happy day so we could all celebrate together."

Newly elected Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan later addressed the crowds, promising better times. But his words were greeted with skepticism by Republican party members. While they supported him for the parliament vote, it was only by enough to get him across the threshold of 53 votes.

ARPINE HOVHANNISYAN VICE PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENT OF ARMENIA "At the moment, our promise refers only to the voting. Refers only to the voting. And then, after that, we'll see what kind of program he'll present to the national assembly. After that, we'll announce our position."

The Republican Party has many concerns about the future of Armenia they intend to address to the new PM.

VAHRAM BAGHDASARYAN MP AND LEADER OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY "We need to hope that all concerns we have, Nikol Pashinyan will dismiss. And god willing, that all will be for the benefits of the people of Armenia and for our stability."

In an interview with CGTN ahead of the parliamentary vote, Pashinyan outlined what his first moves would be if he was elected as PM.

NIKOL PASHINYAN NEWLY ELECTED PM OF ARMENIA "Our most important mission is to organize really free, really democratic, really transparent early elections in Armenia. Parliamentarian elections. And we will organize it, the elections, because the current parliament doesn't express the real political situation in Armenia."

Armenia has gone through dramatic political turmoil recently. Most of the people hope that that turmoil will bring positive changes to their lives. Aljosa Milenkovic, CGTN, Yerevan.