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Russian officials bar opposition leader Alexei 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's vote.
The Central Election Commission decided unanimously that the anti-corruption crusader isn't eligible to run.
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.
Incumbent Vladimir Putin is running for a fourth term in office and is widely expected to win the March 18 election.
Over the past year, Navalny has mounted a grassroots campaign which reached out to the most remote corners of Putin's heartland.
Navalny is the most serious challenger that Putin has faced in all his years in power, and the court cases against him have been viewed as a tool to keep him from running for office.
