Acting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has won a landslide victory in snap parliamentary elections, results showed Monday, cementing his authority months after he swept to power in a peaceful revolution. The Prosperous Armenia party led by influential oligarch and former arm wrestler Gagik Tsarukyan came a distant second with 8.27 percent. He became prime minister in May after spearheading weeks of peaceful anti-government rallies that ousted veteran leader Serzh Sarkisian. Previous elections have been marred by accusations of fraud, but Pashinyan had last week promised “the best elections Armenia has ever seen”. During an international summit in the capital Yerevan in October he danced traditional Armenian dances with French President Emmanuel Macron and wore matching socks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Source: Egypt Independent December 10, 2018 13:41 UTC