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  World   Europe  30 Dec 2017  Russian court clears way for Putin in 2018 by upholding ban on Navalny

Russian court clears way for Putin in 2018 by upholding ban on Navalny

REUTERS
Published : Dec 30, 2017, 6:53 pm IST
Updated : Dec 30, 2017, 6:55 pm IST

Polls indicate that President Vladimir Putin is on course to be comfortably re-elected.

 Navalny, who has organised some of the biggest anti-government demonstrations in years, has been jailed three times in 2017 and charged with breaking the law for organising public meetings and rallies. (Photo: File)
  Navalny, who has organised some of the biggest anti-government demonstrations in years, has been jailed three times in 2017 and charged with breaking the law for organising public meetings and rallies. (Photo: File)

Russia’s Supreme Court on Saturday dismissed an appeal by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny against a decision by the country’s central election commission to bar him from taking part in 2018’s presidential election.

The commission this week barred Navalny from taking part in the March 18 vote because of a suspended prison sentence he says was trumped up.

Navalny, who did not attend the Supreme Court hearing, wrote on Twitter that he and his supporters “will not recognise elections without competition” and renewed calls for a boycott of the vote.

Polls indicate that President Vladimir Putin, who has dominated Russia’s political landscape for 18 years, is on course to be comfortably re-elected, but Navalny says his own exclusion from the vote makes a farce of the ballot.

Navalny, who has organised some of the biggest anti-government demonstrations in years, has been jailed three times in 2017 and charged with breaking the law for organising public meetings and rallies.

Tags: vladimir putin, alexei navalny, 2018 russia presidential elections
Location: Russian Federation, Moscow (City), Moscow