Election officials in Khabarovsk boot opposition candidate from mayoral race, just as he's summoned by local draft board

If you’re looking for a mayoral race that will rekindle your passion for electoral democracy, don’t bother with Khabarovsk, where a city court just removed opposition mayoral candidate Alexey Vorsin because he failed to include the word “spouse” on a standard form in his candidacy paperwork. Vorsin, the regional coordinator for Alexey Navalny’s anti-corruption campaign, is unmarried.

According to Leonid Volkov, Navalny’s national campaign manager, the ruling against Vorsin takes effect immediately, leaving him with no opportunity to appeal the verdict while continuing his campaign. The election takes place in just a month, on September 9. Vorsin says he will challenge his exclusion from the race, regardless. He tweeted on Thursday that the authorities want to kill his candidacy because they fear he will defeat incumbent Mayor Sergey Kravchuk, a member of United Russia, the country’s ruling political party.

As if the court ruling weren’t enough, Vorsin also received a summons from his local draft office, ordering him to appear on August 10 for a review of his passport and military service card. Alexey Vorsin is 30 years old.