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Armenian opposition leader officially nominated as candidate for premier

"The faction unanimously decided to nominate Nikol Pashinyan as a candidate for the post of the country’s prime minister," the press service said

Nikol Pashinyan AP Photo/Sergei Grits

Nikol Pashinyan

© AP Photo/Sergei Grits

YEREVAN, April 30. /TASS/. Armenia’s opposition leader and an MP of the Yelk parliamentary faction Nikol Pashinyan on Monday was officially nominated as a candidate for the country’s prime minister, the faction’s press service said.

"The faction unanimously decided to nominate Nikol Pashinyan as a candidate for the post of the country’s prime minister," the press service said.

Since April 13, opposition’s widespread protests have gripped Armenia. On April 23, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan tendered his resignation in the wake of protests. On April 25, the ruling coalition broke up after the Dashnaktsutyun party had left it.

The parliament is scheduled to elect prime minister on May 1. Three parliamentary factions - the Tsarukyan Alliance and Dashnaktsutyun and Yelk - vowed that they would vote in favor of Pashinyan. The ruling Republican Party of Armenia will not nominate its candidate.

Pashinyan (an MP of the Yelk faction) will become prime minister if 53 out of 105 (a simple majority) of MPs vote for him in the one-chamber parliament. The faction of the ruling Republic Party of Armenia has 58 seats in the parliament, while Yelk has nine, Dashnaktsutyun has seven, and the Tsarukyan bloc has 31 seats.

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