Pashinyan pushes for Armenian premiership

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Opposition MP and protest leader Nikol Pashinyan will on Tuesday again put himself forward as prime minister of Armenia.

Thousands of Armenians rallied on Monday in support of Pashinyan, who is expected to be elected after spearheading weeks of mass protests against the ruling party.

It will be Pashinyan's second attempt to get elected as premier after the ruling Republican Party narrowly blocked his first bid on May 1, despite initially promising not to stand in the way.

Armenians gather in the capital Yerevan's Republic Square to listen to protest leader Nikol Pashinyan, May 7, 2018. /VCG Photo

That led to a crippling general strike in the capital and other cities. Pashinyan called for an end to the protests after the Republicans issued assurances they would back his candidacy on a second attempt.

The opposition leader draws audiences as high as 800,000 for his Facebook Live broadcasts, the Financial Times reported, around a quarter of Armenia's population.

Chanting Pashinyan's name and waving Armenia's tricolor national flags on Monday, demonstrators filled central Yerevan's Republic Square.

"I am 95 percent sure that your candidate will be elected as prime minister tomorrow," Pashinyan told the cheering crowd. "Tomorrow... will be the day of the victory of Armenian citizens."

Armenians gather in the capital Yerevan's Republic Square for support of their protest leader Nikol Pashinyan, May 7, 2018. /VCG Photo

Pashinyan has in recent weeks piled pressure on the ruling party through an unprecedented campaign of civil disobedience that plunged the Moscow-allied nation into its most serious political crisis in years.

It led to the shock resignation of veteran leader Serzh Sarkisian, a week after he shifted to the newly-empowered role of prime minister after having served 10 years as president.

Sarkisian took on the premiership after having served the maximum number of presidential terms but stepped down after mass protests across the country.

The ruling party said last week it would not stop Pashinyan becoming prime minister, but then opposed his candidacy when it was put to a vote in parliament on May 1. Senior officials have since said the party is willing to back Pashinyan on Tuesday.

That would signal a dramatic shift in power in Armenia and could cause disquiet in Russia, which sees the ex-Soviet state as a strategic ally.

(With input from agencies)

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