YEREVAN: Supporters of Armenia’s protest leader Nikol Pashinyan rallied in the capital on Sunday, hoping that a massive show of force two days ahead of a key election will help propel the opposition leader to power.
Pashinyan, who needs a handful of votes to become the country’s next prime minister, saw his chances boosted on Sunday when a senior lawmaker said the ruling Republican Party would not stand in the way of his candidacy.
In the streets of Yerevan, flag-draped demonstrators blocked intersections, sang songs, played music and chanted slogans accusing the ruling party of clinging to power against the people’s will.
Serzh Sarkisian, who became prime minister on April 17 after serving a decade as president in what was seen by opponents as a power grab, resigned on Monday after 10 days of protests.
Protester Vigen Arabyan said the Republicans had no choice but to throw in the towel and back the hugely popular Pashinyan, 42.
“We simply cannot continue on this path,” the 51-year-old engineer said. “The country is going towards complete destruction if we keep going this way.”
Arut Khachatryan, a 17-year-old high school student, added: “We are witnessing a decisive moment” at the culmination of two weeks of severe political crisis in the country of 2.9 million.
Pashinyan, who heads the small Civil Contract party, is the only candidate in the running for the premiership so far and insists that only he can rid Armenia of corruption, poverty and nepotism.
On Friday and Saturday, Pashinyan received a hero’s welcome in a number of towns and villages outside the capital as he drove around the landlocked ex-Soviet country with his supporters in a convoy. — AFP
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