Capital at standstill as protesters take to streets
CNN
YEREVAN, 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.
YEREVAN, 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, after nine hours of bad-tempered debate. After losing the vote, Pashinyan called for protests on Wednesday.
"I'd say 96 percent 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.
The protests appeared to be largely peaceful, with local residents giving out strawberries and water to the demonstrators, according to Gasparyan.
Elsewhere, demonstrators were pictured dancing in the streets.
Protester and investment analyst, Emin Ohanjanyan, told CNN that the demonstrations had so far been very peaceful.
"I think the protest will continue because now even government employees are with the protesters," he said, adding, "I think it will be resolved in a week."
Pashinyan, a former journalist and leader of the opposition Civil Contract party, will face a second round of parliamentary votes next week. If it again fails to choose an interim prime minister, there must be new elections.
With his trademark black cap and camouflage T-shirt, Pashinyan has cut a rebellious figure throughout the protests.
His rough-and-ready style was in stark contrast to the suited former prime minister Sargsyan, and during a televised meeting last month -- which the prime minister walked out of -- Pashinyan even appeared with a bandaged hand which he reportedly injured on barbed wire.
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