Armenia to hold early parliamentary election in June

Armenia’s prime minister on Thursday set a snap parliamentary election for June as he sought to defuse the country’s political crisis

Armenia’s prime minister on Thursday set an early parliamentary election for June as he sought to defuse the country’s political crisis.

The opposition, which has demanded Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation, demanded that he step down before the vote.

Armenia has been gripped by political tensions after suffering a humiliating defeat last year in an armed conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh a territory within Azerbaijan that Armenia-backed separatists controlled for more than 25 years.

The opposition has pushed for Pashinyan’s resignation, and its supporters have been blocking government buildings and barricaded streets to press the demand.