Analysis

Armenia’s Prime Minister Resigns

Armenia’s prime minister, Serzh Sargsyan, resigned on April 23 following days of massive street protests.

Residents of the Armenian capital, Yerevan, poured out on the streets to celebrate after Mr Sargsyan announced his resignation in an online statement. “The street movement is against my tenure. I am fulfilling your demand,” the statement said.

Hundreds of uniformed soldiers had earlier joined anti-government demonstrators, the 11th consecutive day of protests over an alleged power grab by Mr Sargsyan, a former president of Armenia who amended the country’s constitution in order to transfer more power to the country’s prime minister, only to take the job himself.

Prior to Mr Sargsyan’s resignation, and apparently yielding to opposition pressure, police released Nikol Pashinyan, a protest leader and opposition MP who had been arrested alongside hundreds of demonstrators on April 22 in an attempt to crush the demonstrations. Until his release, Mr Pashinyan’s whereabouts had been unknown.

“Nikol! Nikol!” chanted protesters draped in Armenian flags as they marched in Yerevan. Tens of thousands of protesters had gathered in the city’s Republic Square at the weekend in one of the country’s largest demonstrations in years.

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