Armenia’s parliament to hold fresh vote for Prime Minister on May 8

Armenia’s parliament will hold another election for the post of Prime Minister on May 8, its press service said on Wednesday.

The announcement is coming after a vote on Tuesday failed to secure a majority for the opposition leader, Nikol Pashinyan.

Pashinyan was the only candidate in the election, which followed weeks of protests in the country’s capital Yerevan.

He has since called for a nationwide campaign of civil disobedience.

Similarly, Armenian opposition protesters used their cars to block major traffic routes in Yerevan on Wednesday after parliament rejected their candidate for prime minister.

Leading the protest, Pashinyan, a member of parliament from a small opposition party called on his supporters to shut down traffic after he failed to win enough votes to become premier, despite being the only candidate.

Protesters blocked several government ministries, including the Justice Ministry and shut down the highway to the country’s main airport.

Numerous tourists were seen walking with suitcases on the highway to and from Zvartnots International Airport, state news agency Armenpress reported.

Pashinyan’s party called for protesters to let ambulances, and military vehicles, pass through the blockades.

Protesters also blocked the governor’s office in Armenia’s second largest city, Gyumri.

They shut down all surrounding roads and refused to allow staff into the building, state media reported.

Pashinyan has led demonstrations over the past two weeks that resulted in the resignation of the previous Prime Minister, Serzh Sargsyan.

Sargsyan had been president for a decade until he reached his term limit last month and was appointed a prime minister.

Opposition politicians denounced the appointment as an unfair retention of power.

Parliament is supposed to hold another election for prime minister within a week.

If no candidate is elected in that second round, the parliament will be dissolved, state media reported.