Putin Opponent Alexei Navalny Launches Presidential Bid

As a presidential campaign with predictable results kicks off in Russia, opposition leader Alexei Navalny announced his dark-horse bid despite the government’s warnings that he will be disqualified before the ballots are printed for the March election.

“Vladimir Putin, you should not be president anymore,” he said during the meeting of an “initiative group” to register his bid. “You are a bad president. You have no positive platform. We are sending you a message in these elections and are ready to win.”

Navalny, who was convicted of fraud in a 2014 verdict that he called politicized, is not allowed to run for president under Russian electoral law, which bars anyone with a criminal conviction from seeking elected office. He says nothing in the constitution prevents his bid, which is true, and argues that he should be allowed to run.

(c) 2017, The Washington Post · Andrew Roth  

{Matzav.com}