Sayeed Muhammad: Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan was elected as the country’s new prime minister as he capped a peaceful revolution driven by weeks of mass protests against corruption and cronyism in the ex-Soviet republic.However, Russia is wary of an uncontrolled change of power which would pull the country out of its orbit, despite Pashinyan assuring of not breaking with the Kremlin.Pashinyan, a former newspaper editor who spent time in prison for fomenting unrest, running the polls race marks a rupture with the cadre of rulers who have run Armenia since the late 1990s, reports Reuters.He spearheaded a demonstration that first forced veteran leader Serzh Sarksyan to resign as prime minister and then pressured the ruling party to abandon attempts to block his candidature.The voting was held in parliament yesterday, where 59 lawmakers backed him, including some from the ruling Republican Party, with 42 voting against.In a vote last week, the Republican Party blocked Pashinyan, but said yesterday it had decided to get behind him for the sake of unity and the good of the nation.A central square in the capital, where Pashinyan’s supporters gathered to watch the voting on huge television screens, burst into joy following the polls result.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.Pashinyan’s protest movement intensified as Sarksyan, barred by the constitution from seeking another term as president, became prime minister, causing many Armenians to consider the situation as a cynical ploy by Sarskyan to extend his hold on power.
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