YEREVAN (Reuters) - Opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan was elected as Armenia’s new prime minister on Tuesday, capping a peaceful revolution driven by weeks of mass protests against corruption and cronyism in the ex-Soviet republic. He spearheaded a protest movement that first forced veteran leader Serzh Sarksyan to step down as prime minister and then pressured the ruling party to abandon attempts to block his election as prime minister, the country’s most powerful post. In a vote in parliament on Tuesday, 59 lawmakers backed Pashinyan’s candidacy, including some from the ruling Republican Party, with 42 voting against. The tens of thousands of people in Republic Square shouted “Nikol!” and white doves were released into the air. Pashinyan’s protest movement was sparked when Sarksyan, barred by the constitution from seeking another term as president, became prime minister instead.

Source: Huffington Post May 08, 2018 09:45 UTC