Alexei Navalny has been officially banned from running in the election EVGENY FELDMAN/NAVALNY CAMPAIGN VIA APRussia’s main opposition leader has called for an election boycott and promised nationwide protests after he was barred from running for president. Alexei Navalny, 41, announced he would run a year ago but was formally ruled out yesterday because of a fraud conviction that supporters say was trumped up to discredit him. The decision by the central electoral commission clears the way for President Putin, 65, to reclaim the Kremlin practically unopposed for a fourth term — which would extend his effective rule over Russia to 24 years. Mr Navalny, a lawyer and anti-corruption campaigner, accused the commission of carrying out a political order to exclude him from the March 18 vote. “There will be no elections because Vladimir Putin is extremely frightened.

Source: The Times December 26, 2017 00:03 UTC