Russian Supreme Court bans opposition leader from running for president

Mr. Alexei Navalny. Photo: RT.

Russia's Central Election Commission (CEC) this week banned opposition leader Alexei Navalny from running for president in 2018 over a suspended prison sentence he served. Navalny later appealed to Russia's top court, Reuters reported.

The court decided “not to appeal,” judge Nikolai Romanenkov said. The CEC’s decision was upheld. Mr Navalny, who did not attend the hearing, said he and his supporters “will not recognise uncontested elections” and renewed calls for a boycott.

Navalny, 41, is a lawyer, financier and political activist who has been a frequent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has attracted a large following through social media and has staged numerous protests across Russia this year.

Navalny was convicted in 2013 of embezzling $270,000 from the Kirov region budget. Navalny has always denied the charges, saying he was convicted for political reasons.

The Russian presidential election is scheduled for March 18, 2018. Mr. Putin submitted his re-election application to the CEC on December 27. He will run as an independent candidate. Polls show that even if allowed to run, Navalny would have difficulty defeating Mr. Putin, who enjoys a large voter base.

In addition to Mr Putin, 33 people have expressed their intention to run, including the head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the founder of the Yabloko party Grigory Yavlinsky and the leader of the Development Party Boris Titov.

According to VNE