1st LD Writethru: Armenia to elect new PM on May 1

YEREVAN, April. 26 (Xinhua) -- The speaker of the Armenian parliament announced Thursday that the country's National Assembly will convene next week to elect a new prime minister.

The Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Ara Babloyan in a statement said the vote will be held on May 1.

The country's ex-Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan resigned on Monday after nearly two weeks of protests against the ruling Republican Party.

Sargsyan, who was Armenian president for a decade, was appointed as prime minister by the National Assembly on April 17.

The demonstrations against his tenure was led by opposition MP Nikol Pashinyan, who demanded an immediate and peaceful handover of power by appointing him as the next interim prime minister.

Sargsyan's post is temporarily occupied by his deputy Karen Karapetyan, former prime minister and former senior executive of Russian gas giant Gazprom.

However, the Armenian opposition continued mass protests on the streets and on Wednesday canceled talks planned between Karapetyan and Pashinyan. The impasse in Armenia's political crisis remains with political parties holding meetings in search of a solution. Enditem.