Opposition supporters block mayor’s office in Gyumri

Supporters of Armenian opposition broke into the buildings of mayor’s offices in Gyumri and Maralik. The protestors demand that the heads of local administrations join the opposition, according to local news portals.

"We demand that Mayor of Gyumri Samvel Balasanyan join the opposition movement," one of the protest leaders, Levon Barsegyan, said, stressing that all government buildings in the city are controlled by the opposition.

A similar situation is in Maralik where the demonstrators have broken into the mayor’s office and are chanting anti-government slogans.

Opposition supporters also blocked highways linking Armenia with Georgia and Iran today.

A similar situation is on the road connecting Armenia with Iran. Local citizens blocked the road near Vayk with trucks and are chanting anti-government slogans.

Protests resumed in Armenia this morning after the parliament rejected opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan as the prime minister. Earlier Pashinyan called on his supporters to launch large-scale civil disobedience actions on May 2. He urged his supporters to block all roads in the republic and the ways to the airports not to allow the authorities to "steal people’s victory."

Protests against the election of former President Serzh Sargsyan as Armenia's Prime Minister have started on April 13. The opposition accused Sargsyan, who was twice elected president, of poor governance and deterioration of economic situation in the country. Despite the protests, the Armenian Parliament elected Sargsyan as Head of the Cabinet on the same day. On April 23, Sargsyan resigned amid continuing protests.