Serzh Sargsyan resigned after 11 days of mass protests

24.04.2018

Serzh Sargsyan resigned after 11 days of mass protests

Prime Minister of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan resigned after 11 days of mass protests.

The protests started in Armenia on April 13, after the ruling Republican Party nominated Serzh Sargsyan as its candidate for the position of Prime Minister. They continued after the special session of the Parliament where Sargsyan was elected.

On April 22, Serzh Sargsyan had a meeting with the leader of the protests Nikol Pashinyan, which he left after just three minutes. In an hour, Nikol Pashinyan and two other Members of the Parliament were detained. According to the police, 35,000 people gathered at the Republic Square the same evening. The opposition sources mention 160,000 participants.

On April 23, first deputy PM Karen Karapetyan met with Nikol Pashinyan; soon after that Serzh Sargsyan resigned.

Serzh Sargsyan was elected President in 2008, and reelected in the position in 2013. In 2015, the Republican Party proposed a constitutional reform which would turn Armenia into a parliamentarian state giving the Prime Minister more power. The majority of citizens voted for reforms, although the referendum for the new constitution was accompanied by large-scale protests.

 

Photos by Karen Antashyan