Leader of the protests in Armenia Nikol Pashinyan calls for national civil disobedience

The leader of an Armenian protest movement that forced the country's veteran leader to step down announced on Tuesday, May 1, a nationwide campaign of civil disobedience after the ruling party thwarted his bid to take over as prime minister.

Supporters of Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan attend a rally in downtown Yerevan on May 1, 2018. (AFP)

Addressing tens of thousands of people gathered in a square in the Armenian capital, Nikol Pashinyan said that starting from 8:15 am on Wednesday morning, his supporters would block roads, railways and airports.

The planned day of protest in the small ex-Soviet state sets up a standoff between Pashinyan's movement, which has mobilised thousands of people to take to the streets, and a ruling elite which is determined to hold on to power and still controls the security apparatus.

After days of protests, veteran leader Serzh Sarksyan stepped down as prime minister last week. That seemed to signal a dramatic shift in power in Armenia, an ex-Soviet state closely aligned to Russia that has been run by the same cadre of people since the late 1990s.

Supporters of Pashinyan, who had spent the day in the capital's Republic Square to watch the parliamentary debate on two huge screens, shouted "shame" when the result of the vote was shown.