Armenia's opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan was elected prime minister on Tuesday, ending weeks of protests against corruption and cronyism that erupted with the election of veteran politician Serzh Sarkisian.
Sarkisian has since stepped down, but it did not quell Pashinyan, who demanded that he be elected premier, touting himself as the sole candidate who can end the former Soviet republic's crisis.
After a failed bid for the premiership, thwarted by the ruling Republican Party, last week, Pashinyan vowed to continue popular pressure on authorities.
The election of Pashinyan, a former newspaper editor who spent time in prison for fomenting unrest, marks a rupture with the cadre of rulers who have run Armenia since the late 1990s.
In a vote in parliament on Tuesday, 59 lawmakers backed Pashinyan’s candidacy, including some from the Republican Party, with 42 voting against.
After it blocked his election last week, the party said on Tuesday it had decided to get behind him for the sake of unity and the good of the nation.
A central square in the capital Yerevan, where Pashinyan’s supporters gathered to watch the voting on huge television screens, erupted into joy when the result was shown.
The tens of thousands of people in Republic Square shouted “Nikol!” and white doves were released into the air. People hugged and kissed each other.
Many of the supporters are wearing white clothes, symbolizing their hopes that Pashinyan’s election will bring a new page in Armenia.
“I’m the happiest person in the world,” said Shogik, a 17-year-old Pashinyan supporter.
"We chose a new road in Armenia where the driver will be the people and not clans. Jobs will appear, people will return, corruption will disappear," said demonstrator Tigran Azizian, a 42-year-old worker in the city's subway.
Pashinyan’s protest movement was sparked when Sarkisian, barred by the constitution from seeking another term as president, became prime minister instead. Many Armenians saw that as a cynical ploy by Sarkisian to extend his hold on power.
He resigned on April 23, six days after his election as premier.
Moscow, which has a military base in Armenia, is wary of an uncontrolled change of power which would pull the country out of its orbit, but Pashinyan has offered assurances that he will not break with the Kremlin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin later sent a telegram congratulating Pashinyan on his election, hoping that he will strengthen ties between the two countries, said the Kremlin according to the RIA news agency.
