Armenia: Opposition leader calls off protests

By Ali Cura

YEREVAN, Armenia (AA) - Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan on Wednesday called off nationwide protests after ruling party agreed to support him for interim prime minister.

Speaking at a rally in capital Yerevan, Pashinyan said he will run for interim prime minister in the second round of voting next week.

Pashinyan said the protests had yielded the desired results and the ruling Republican Party of Armenia had decided to support his candidacy.

Republican Party of Armenia Chairman Vahram Bagdasaryan, speaking to reporters, said they will not field a candidate for voting on May 8.

Instead they will support a candidate nominated by one third of the lawmakers, he said.

Armenian Parliament has 105 seats and the Republican Party has 58 lawmakers. A candidate needs at least 53 votes in the parliament in order to be elected as prime minister.

On Tuesday, Pashinyan failed to get elected as the interim prime minister.

Despite running as the only candidate, Pashinyan received 45 votes and failed to secure the necessary 53 votes in parliament.

If the second round of voting fails to elect a prime minister, the parliament will dissolve and elections called.

Last month, Pashinyan led mass protests against the ruling Republican Party, which brought daily life in Yerevan to a standstill and forced former Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan to resign.

*Fatih Hafiz Mehmet contributed to this story from Ankara.