After weeks of wild protests, Armenia elects new PM

Armenia’s opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan has been elected as the new prime minister two weeks after Serzh Sargsyan resigned following widespread anti-government demonstrations.

Reports say the new PM experienced a meteoric rise in popularity in recent weeks by appealing to Armenians of all ages with his so-called Velvet Revolution exercising true people power – the ability to conjure up a storm of support on request.

His protest movement began with a march of non-violence on March 31, demanding Sargsyan to step down.

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Sargsyan resigned after 10-days of demonstrations by protesters who took to the streets of the capital, Yerevan, accusing him of corruption and authoritarian rule.

Before his resignation, Sargsyan was appointed prime minister last month after serving 10 years as the country’s president.

The election of Pashinyan, a former newspaper editor who spent time in prison for fomenting unrest, marks a rupture with the cadre of rulers who have run Armenia since the late 1990s.

 

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