{"id":55387,"date":"2017-12-26T05:25:22","date_gmt":"2017-12-26T05:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=55387"},"modified":"2017-12-26T05:25:22","modified_gmt":"2017-12-26T05:25:22","slug":"russian-officials-bar-navalny-running-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/russian-officials-bar-navalny-running-president.html","title":{"rendered":"Russian officials bar Navalny from running for president"},"content":{"rendered":"

Russian officials bar Navalny from running for president<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Russian officials bar Navalny from running for president:- Russian election officials on Monday formally barred Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny from running for president, prompting calls from him for a boycott of next year\u2019s vote.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Central Election Commission decided unanimously that the anti-corruption crusader isn\u2019t eligible to run.<\/span><\/p>\n

Navalny is implicitly barred from running for office because of a conviction in a fraud case which has been viewed as political retribution. He could have run if he was given a special dispensation or if his conviction was cancelled.<\/span><\/p>\n

Incumbent Vladimir Putin is set to easily win a fourth term in office in the March 18 election, with his approval ratings topping 80 percent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the past year, Navalny has mounted a grassroots campaign which reached out to the most remote corners of Putin\u2019s heartland.<\/span><\/p>\n

Navalny, 41 is the most serious challenger that Putin has faced in all his years in power, and the court cases against him have been widely seen as a tool to keep him from running for office.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a pre-recorded video message that was released minutes after the Election Commission handed down the decision, Navalny called on his supporters to boycott the vote.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe procedure that we\u2019re invited to take part is not an election,\u201d he said. \u201cOnly Putin and the candidates he has hand-picked are taking part in it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGoing to the polls right now is to vote for lies and corruption.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Central Election Commission chief Ella Pamfilova told Navalny ahead of its vote to bar him that \u201cmaybe we would be interested if you were running,\u201d but said the conviction doesn\u2019t allow the commission to put him on the ballot.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking before the vote, Navalny told the commission that their decision to bar him would be a vote \u201cnot against me, but against 16,000 people who have nominated me, against 200,000 volunteers who have been canvassing for me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While Putin is all but certain to win an easy victory, the Kremlin wants his performance to be as strong as possible and has been concerned by growing voter apathy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Navalny\u2019s call for a boycott could hurt the Kremlin\u2019s hopes for boosting turnout.<\/span><\/p>\n

The involvement of Ksenia Sobchak, a 36-year-old star TV host, could raise public interest in the race. While Sobchak has denied colluding with the Kremlin, she could attract some of Navalny\u2019s supporters and help boost attendance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sobchak criticized Navalny\u2019s call for boycotting the vote, saying Monday that the \u201celection is the only way to change something, and boycotting them is inefficient and harmful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She proposed that Navalny join her campaign if she gets registered for the race.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other veterans of past elections \u2014 liberal Grigory Yavlinsky and ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky \u2014 are also running. Communists nominated a new face, Pavel Grudinin, director of a big strawberry farm just outside Moscow.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/europe\/russian-officials-bar-navalny-from-running-for-president\/2017\/12\/25\/da338342-e9f4-11e7-956e-baea358f9725_story.html?utm_term=.73fcda313aca<\/span><\/p>\n

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