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BBC: The Kremlin has finally decided not to allow Navalny to participate in the elections
Four months before the presidential elections in Russia, the Kremlin decided on the main intrigue of the election campaign: what will be the rivals of President Vladimir Putin. Officials have decided that Putin's main opponent, Alexei Navalny, founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, will not be registered as a candidate, BBC Russian Service reports .
In its report, the agency refers to two sources close to the presidential administration, one of whom took part in the discussion of pre-election scenarios.
Navalny's participation in the elections was previously supposed to give them legitimacy and increase turnout. But now the decision to prevent Navalny has been made, and it is unequivocal, a source in the presidential administration told the BBC. Indirectly, his words are confirmed by the speech of the chairman of the CEC of the Russian Federation, Ella Pamfilova . At the World Festival of Youth and Students in Sochi, she announced that Alexei Navalny would not be able to participate in the 2018 elections due to a criminal record. The next presidential elections with his possible participation will be held in 2028, Pamfilova said.
At the same time, the presence or absence of Navalny's name on the ballot does not affect interest in the elections or turnout: they are interesting for voters in themselves, Gleb Kuznetsov, head of the EISI expert center, told the BBC.
Meanwhile, the recruitment of Putin's sparring partners in the elections will not be limited to representatives of parliamentary parties. This topic has recently been increasingly discussed in connection with the possible nomination of Ksenia Sobchak as a presidential candidate .
Vladimir Putin himself has not yet announced his intention to participate in the Russian presidential elections in 2018.
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