Russia's Navalny calls for election boycott as officials ban him from running

Russian opposition chief Navalny released from jail Video provided by AFP Newslook

Russia's leading exponent, Alexei Navalny, has urged the Russians to boycott the presidential elections next year, even when he commits to appeal against a government decision that excludes him from the campaign.

"I assure you that many people will not go to these elections, they will actively boycott these elections," said Navalny.

The Central Electoral Commission unanimously voted on Monday to ban Navalny from the 2018 campaign due to a criminal conviction in a fraud case, which Navalny considers a politically invented accusation to keep him away from politics.

"The crime of Navalny qualifies as" serious "and thus frees the individual from the right to assume the post of president," said commission member Boris Ebzeyev before the vote, urging the body to ban his candidacy.

The committee's decision came just a day after Navalny asked to be a presidential candidate, asking supporters across the country to show their support for his offer.

Navalny previously claimed, before the commission, that the European Court of Human Rights had revoked the sentence, and told the commission that banning the March 18 elections would make it illegitimate.

President Vladimir Putin had to take a four-year break as prime minister between 2008 and 2012, but he has ruled Russia effectively over the last 17 years. Looking for a fourth term as president would have given him a mandate until 2024.

It is widely expected that Putin, 65, will win re-election, regardless of whether Navalny, 41, is authorized or not. If he succeeded, he would become the longest-running leader in Russia by Josef Stalin.

Russian law prohibits people with a criminal conviction to run for president, but the commission could have granted Navalny a special waiver that would have allowed him to run. Likewise, a court could cancel its sentence. Navalny said he will press for a massive election boycott if he is not allowed to compete.

"The procedure in which we are invited to participate is not a choice," he said. "Only Putin and the candidates he chose by hand take part in this."

"Going to the polls right now," he said, "is voting for lies and corruption".