YEREVAN (AFP): Nikol Pashinyan failed in his bid to be elected interim prime minister of Armenia.
According to the local ArmenPress news agency only 46 lawmakers voted in favour of him becoming prime minister – he needed 53 votes to be elected. He was the only candidate, but the ruling Republican Party had refused to endorse him.
Earlier, tens of thousands of people rallied in Armenia’s capital of Yerevan ahead of the crucial vote.
Pashinyan had warned of a “political tsunami” if lawmakers didn’t back him to lead the country.
Huge crowds gathered in central Yerevan in the blistering sun, clutching tricolour flags and watching a live video stream from a nail-biting special parliamentary session on a giant screen, where ruling party delegates appeared to be seeking to derail Pashinyan’s bid.
Pashinyan, who spearheaded weeks of mass protests that led to the resignation of long-time leader Serzh Sargsyan last month, insists that only he can rid the poor South Caucasus nation of corruption and poverty and conduct free and fair elections. It was Sargsyan’s ruling party that thwarted his bid to get elected after almost nine hours of debate.
Already early on Tuesday it appeared that Republican Party were seeking to torpedo his bid, grilling Pashinyan on a number of technical issues ahead of the vote.
Eduard Sharmazanov, vice speaker of parliament and the ruling party’s spokesman, excoriated the former newspaper editor, implying he was unpredictable.
“Mr Pashinyan, I don’t see you at the post of prime minister, I don’t see you at the post of commander-in-chief.”
A source familiar with negotiations told AFP that Pashinyan and the Republican Party had struck a backdoor deal several days ago, but it appeared that the ruling party backed out at the last minute. Over the past few days Pashinyan has secured the backing of two major parties, including Prosperous Armenia, giving him a total of 47 votes.
But he was still six votes short of the 53 he needed from the 105-seat legislature, where the Republican Party has a majority. And as it turned out he was unable to get those votes. Protester Karine Melkumyan expressed hope that the Republicans would have enough common sense to back Pashinyan.
“Otherwise I don’t know, perhaps chaos will envelop Yerevan,” she said.
David Babayan, a 25-year-old software specialist, warned that the ruling party’s desire to cling to power would backfire.
“They will sign their own political death sentence,” he told AFP.
Pashinyan’s protest movement had accused ex-leader Sarkissian of a power grab, saying he wanted to extend his grip on power after serving as president for a decade but failing to tackle a litany of problems like corruption and poverty. Observers and the international community have expressed concern that the turmoil could destabilise the Moscow-allied nation, which has been locked in a territorial dispute with Azerbaijan. Russia has urged compromise while the United States has called for “a resolution that reflects the interests of all Armenians.”
Protests in Armenia stand in stark contrast to rallies in Ukraine in 2013-2014 and Georgia in 2003, which brought pro-Western governments to power and shredded ties with Moscow.
