Sole premier candidate loses vote

YEREVAN, Armenia — Protest leader Nikol Pashinyan, the sole candidate in Armenia’s election for prime minister, called for fresh protests after failing to secure enough votes from parliament on Tuesday to win the post.

After about nine hours of debate in the legislature, a senior member of the majority-wielding Republican Party of Armenia, Vahram Baghdasaryan, said the party would not vote for Pashinyan, state media reported.

Pashinyan, a member of parliament in a small opposition party, received 45 votes, eight fewer than necessary to win. The voting was televised.

Pashinyan has led mass protests in the capital, Yerevan, over the past two weeks, resulting in the resignation of the previous prime minister, Serzh Sargsyan.

Sargsyan had been president for a decade before becoming prime minister last month. Opposition politicians decried his appointment as an unfair retention of power.

Pashinyan vowed to continue the protests, calling on supporters to block roads today. Another election is due within a week.

“A total strike is announced,” Pashinyan said in comments carried by the Interfax news agency.

“Today has been a difficult day. We need to leave peacefully, and with renewed strength begin our protest tomorrow,” Pashinyan told supporters in central Yerevan.