TEHRAN, April 17 - Tens of thousands rallied in the Armenian capital on Tuesday after ex-president Serzh Sarkisian was elected prime minister by the country's parliament despite several days of protests, an AFP journalist reported from the scene.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - Opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan -– who organised the protest -– said "tens of thousands" gathered in Yerevan's Republic Square to denounce Sarkisian's efforts to extend his chokehold on power after he stepped down as president last week.
Holding Armenian flags and chanting "Armenia without Serzh!" protesters filled Yerevan's main square after lawmakers backed the candidacy of the Kremlin-supported veteran politician with 77 to 17 votes.
His second and final term as president ended last week.
The opposition denounced the vote -- which made Sarkisian Armenia's top leader under a new parliamentary system of government -- saying the 63-year-old lacked popular support.
"Sarkisian lacks legitimacy and has earned the hatred of Armenians," Pashinian told the rally.
Earlier in the day he announced "the start of a peaceful velvet revolution in Armenia," and called on supporters to "paralyze the work of all government agencies."
"We must not allow Armenia's transformation into an autocratic country where the same man remains in power for an indefinite time," 23-year-old student Karen Mirzoyan, told AFP at the rally.
Another protester, 38-year-old Roza Tunyan, said Sarkisian "lied to Armenians and broke his earlier promise not to become prime minister after his presidential term expires."
Source: AFP
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