This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Nikol Pashinyan, the leader of the wave of protests that created a surprise power vacuum in Armenia, has said he has met the country’s new president and hopes to secure his support to become prime minister.

Armenia’s parliament plans to choose a replacement on Tuesday for Serzh Sargsyan, who resigned last week after demonstrations over his selection.

Pashinyan’s supporters blocked traffic in the capital city of Yerevan as they marched to Republic Square for an anti-government rally. There have been protests all week since Sargsyan became prime minister after term limits forced him to step down as president, ending a 10-year stint.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Nikol Pashinyan at a rally in Vanadzor on Saturday. Photograph: Sergei Grits/AP

Pashinyan said he hoped his bid to be the next prime minister would receive backing from the president, Armen Sarkisian. The former prime minister Karen Karapetian, who was appointed to the post in an acting capacity last week, is from Sargsyan’s Republic party.

A spokesman for the party, that holds a majority in parliament, said on Saturday it would not nominate a Republican candidate for prime minister, but parliamentarians who are party members would vote as a bloc.

Sargsyan was chosen by lawmakers as prime minister after approving governance changes that diminished the presidency’s power and bolstered the prime minister’s. Opponents said the new system would have allowed Sargsyan to remain Armenia’s leader indefinitely.