Armenia opposition leader Pashinyan elected PM by parliament: AFP

Armenia's parliament today elected opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan as prime minister after he spearheaded weeks of mass protests against the ruling party, transforming the country's political landscape.

Lawmakers voted 59 to 42 to approve Pashinyan's candidacy to the nation's top job with the ruling Republican Party backing the opposition leader's premiership bid on his second attempt after it narrowly voting him down last week, plunging the Caucasus nation into its most serious political crisis in years.