Serzh Sargsyan, Armenia’s ex-president on the verge of being elected its new prime minister, told voting National Assembly deputies that history would be the true judge of his tenure as the country’s leader.

The vote has been delayed for twenty minutes after Yelk Alliance MP requested the postponement.

In a speech to deputies, Sargsyan, the only nominee for prime minister, said, “If I am elected, it won’t be the third government term of Serzh Sargsyan, but rather the first term of a Republican Party of Armenia government in a parliamentary Armenia.”

He then asked if his critics couldn’t understand the difference. “Of course they can,” he said.

“Two years from now no one will even think to equate the prime minister who has assumed political responsibility with the president of a semi-presidential system,” Sargsyan said, adding that “In a bright, prosperous, rule of law Armenia, it’s imperative that the extinguished volcanoes not waken.”

While Sargsyan was making these comments, protesters today marched through Yerevan and “seized” several government buildings (Central Bank, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State Revenue Committee, Prosecutor General’s Office).

Activists were posted outside to make sure no one entered or exited.

Nikol Pashinyan, who is spearheading the protests, has called for a nation-wide rally at 6:30pm in Republic Square.