Putin challenger Nadezhdin barred from standing in election

Vladimir Putin critic Boris Nadezhdin has been barred from standing against the Russian president in the coming elections after authorities claimed signatures in his support were defective.

The Central Election Commission (CEC) said last week that more than 9,000 signatures submitted by Mr Nadezhdin were invalid, leaving 95,587 names, meaning he was just short of the 100,000 required signatures to register as a candidate.

Candidates need to obtain 100,000 signatures to be allowed to run. Up to a maximum of 5 per cent of those can be considered “defective”, otherwise the candidate is barred from running.

The CEC said on Monday they had found errors in the signatures that “elicit surprise” – a finding that was challenged by Mr Nadezhdin.

However, the CEC rejected his bid.

Mr Nadezhdin, who said he would challenge the ruling in the courts, formally submitted his bid to run last week. He is expected to take the decision to Russia's Supreme Court.

“I collected more than 200,000 signatures across Russia,” he said. “We conducted the collection openly and honestly.”

Backed by the Civic Initiative party, which is not represented in the Russian parliament, the Duma, Mr Nadezhdin has spoken out against the war on Ukraine. He has also called for Mr Putin to be replaced. Under Russian laws, speaking out against the Ukraine conflict can be punishable by 15 years in prison.

Mr Nadezhdin, 60, was in the State Duma from 1999 to 2003 and was considered to be a close ally of murdered opposition politician Boris Nemtsov.

He has said he would end the war in Ukraine on his first day as president. “My first task will be to stop the conflict with Ukraine, and then to restore normal relations between Russia and the Western community,” he said in an interview last month.

Candidates who have been confirmed as standing in the election next month include Leonid Slutsky of the LDPR, Nikolay Kharitonov of the Communist Party, and Vladislav Davankov of New People, with Mr Putin expected to win around 80 per cent of the vote.