Armenia to have PM on 8 May: Ruling Republican Party says will vote for candidate who has support of 1/3 of MPs

19:46, 2 May 

The ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) has decided to vote for any candidate put forward by the parliament who has the support of one-third of the body’s members.

Vahram Baghdasaryan of the RPA announced the news in the wake of a meeting held with the party head Serzh Sargsyan.

Baghdasaryan said that the Republican Party would not put forward a candidate. “We are not naming names, but we will vote for whoever is supported by one-third of the National Assembly’s members. There will be a PM in Armenia on 8 May”.

Pashinyan has the support of 45 out of the 105 members of the parliament.

18:03, 2 May 

Acting Minister of Culture Armen Amiryan has resigned. He announced the news himself, addressing to the crowd of protesters outside the building of the Ministry of Culture of Armenia.

16:02, 2 May 

The Armenian National Assembly will reconvene at 12:00 on 8 May for a second attempt to elect the prime minister.

The first attempt failed as MPs of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia voted against the opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan’s bid for the premiership.

It is as of yet unknown whether other political parties will put forward a candidate.

Should the voting fail a second time, the constitution dictates that the parliament be dismissed and snap parliamentary elections be held.

15:50, 2 May

Yerevan’s streets are completely blocked off. The authorities have expressed their concern over the crisis and are calling for negotiations.

Armenian President Armen Sargsyan said that consultations must be held this week to find a way out of the current political crisis.

Acting PM of Armenia Karen Karapetyan has called on the country’s political forces to ‘show their will, decisiveness and flexibility’ and sit down at the negotiating table.

“The PM must be elected according to the constitution. There is no other way, not in theory nor in practice”, Karapetyan said.

Several hours earlier

Armenians have again taken to the streets in a display of civil disobedience. Streets and traffic in provincial towns of Armenia have also been shut down and blocked off.

Last night, the Armenian parliament voted against the ‘national candidate’ and leader of the opposition movement Nikol Pashinyan. The public responded by shutting down streets and transport, including the metro and airport.

Only 29 MPs were present in parliament today and thus there was no quorum to hold a parliamentary session. It is presumed many were unable to make it to the parliament because of the complete shut-down of municipal traffic.