A crowd of several hundred demonstrators attempted to enter the Government Building in Yerevan today while Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was chairing a cabinet meeting inside.

The demonstrators,  a diverse lot with a number of complaints, banged on the building’s windows, demanding to be let inside.

After the cabinet session ended, Pashinyan went out to address the protesters and was welcomed with a chorus of “Nikol, Nikol” chants.

Some of the protesters traveled to Yerevan from the Armavir community of Yeghegnout, demanding that their former mayor be appointed to fill the post left vacant when Republican Party of Armenia mayor Razmik Margaryan quit the post.

Yeghegnout residents say the Armavir Provincial Governor is a Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) member who will appoint a PAP member as community mayor.

Pashinyan assured the protesters that the process to fill the post would be transparent and by the book.

Other protesters were from the border community of Artzvashen in Gegharkounik Province.

They were demanding financial assistance in order to renovate their apartments. Pashinyan told them he’d set up a working group that will meet with them on October 2.

There were some in the crowd who showed up to tell Pashinyan about their personal problems. They pushed their way to the front, wanting to take a “selfie” with the prime minister.

When asked by reporters on the scene to comment on the attempt by demonstrators to force their way into the building, Pashinyan replied, “It’s their door. If they want, they can hit it.”