Protests in Armenia after opposition leader’s power bid blocked

ARMENIA - Armenia’s capital Yerevan was brought to a standstill on Wednesday as thousands of demonstrators blocked roads and danced in the streets, after parliament refused to elect their protest leader as the new prime minister.

Supporters of Nikol Pashinyan heeded his call for a nationwide day of action, blocking roads leading to Yerevan’s main airport, and forcing some passengers to leave their cars and continue to the terminals on foot. Protesters also blocked roads to government buildings, including the Ministry of Defense, demonstrator Marina Gasparyan told CNN. Pashinyan, 42, lost a parliamentary vote on Tuesday to become interim prime minister. The vote followed the resignation last week of former prime minister Serzh Sargsyan, who was forced to step down amid weeks of mass demonstrations, led by Pashinyan’s movement.

But Pashinyan’s bid to become the new prime minister was thwarted by the Republican party, which holds a majority in parliament and is allied to Sargsyan, and after nine hours of bad-tempered debate. After losing the vote, Pashinyan called for protests yesterday. “I’d say 96% of Yerevan streets are blocked by protesters. Streets are closed mainly by cars,” Marina Gasparyan, the demonstrator, told CNN., adding that many protesters were communicating using the messaging app Telegram.

(CNN)