Russian opposition leader barred from challenging Putin

World
Europe

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny's hopes to run for president in Russia's election on March 18, 2018 have been dashed. The Russian central election commission has rejected his bid to register as a candidate in the vote.

Navalny is one of the most prominent opposition figures in Russia and support for him has been growing in recent years.

This Sunday he cleared the first hurdle towards being able to take part in the election. Navalny submitted the documents to the central election commission required to register him as a candidate.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny submits his documents for registered as a presidential candidate at the Central Election Commission in Moscow, Russia December 24, 2017. /Reuters Photo

He won the initial support of 742 people at a meeting in Moscow. This is well above the minimum 500 people required to formally nominate him and initiate a presidential bid.

Navalny told the crowd gathering on Sunday that Vladimir Putin turned Russia into a source of personal enrichment for himself, his family and his friends. He said that Putin was a bad leader and shouldn't be president anymore.

Navalny is a fierce critic of the Russian President. He has been campaigning against corruption among Russia's elite. His recent expose revealed that Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev amassed luxurious yachts, mansions and vineyards while in office.

Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny attends a march in central Saint Petersburg on February 25, 2012. /AFP Photo

Medvedev denies the allegations, however, the investigation has led to several protests across Russia against corruption in the government earlier this year.

But even though Navalny has strong support among some Russians, it was not enough to get him on the ballot. The election commission has refused to register him as a candidate due to a suspended sentence.

The election commission has previously said that Navalny would be ineligible to run for president due to this suspended prison sentence. Russian law bars anyone found guilty of committing a serious crime from running in elections for ten years.

Navalny's suspended sentence dates back to 2012. He was found guilty of embezzlement and was handed a five-year suspended jail term earlier this year.

Navalny insists that the sentence is politically motivated and was designed to keep him out of the presidential race. Navalny appealed his conviction to the European Court of Human Rights.

The Court in October has ruled that Navalny's conviction was arbitrary. The Court ordered Moscow to pay Navalny compensation. However, the authorities in Moscow have ignored the ruling by the European Court on Human Rights.

As a result, Navalny is out of the race.

Putin has announced his would run as an independent candidate and is widely expected to win the election in March next year. If he wins, he will be in charge of Russia until 2024, almost a quarter of a century either as resident or prime minister.

5799km