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World|politics|December 25, 2017 / 10:19 AM
Putin critic Navalny submits documents to Russian Election Commission

AKIPRESS.COM - Russian anticorruption activist and opposition politician Aleksei Navalny has submitted documents needed to be registered as a presidential candidate to the country’s Central Election Commission, RFE/RL reported.

"An election without us is not an election," Navalny declared before submitting the papers late on December 24. "We are capable of opposing the current authorities. Our key demand is to be allowed to take part in the elections," he told reporters as he was leaving the commission building in central Moscow.

An outspoken Kremlin critic, Navalny is barred from running in the March 2018 presidential election because of a criminal conviction that he says is politically motivated. Navalny could run if the conviction is canceled or if he gets a special dispensation.

The commission, which extended its working hours to take the documents, has five days in which to decide whether Navalny will be registered.

Navalny earlier on December 24 had announced he had gathered enough endorsements to run in the election after his supporters organized rallies in 20 cities across Russia to secure what they said were 15,000 signatures.

At a Moscow rally, he branded Russian leader Vladimir Putin a “bad president.”

"It's you, Vladimir Putin, that turned our country into a source of personal enrichment for yourself, your family, and your friends. Therefore, you should no longer be president," Navalny said.

About 800 Navalny supporters gathered for a formal endorsement meeting in a giant tent on the snow-covered riverside in Moscow, with 742 giving him their signature.

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