Russia's Supreme Court on Saturday turned down an appeal by opposition politician Alexei Navalny to overturn a controversial ruling barring him from running in the March Presidential election against Vladimir Putin.
On December 31, the Supreme Court upheld the Central Election Commission's decision that Mr. Navalny cannot register as a candidate due to an embezzlement conviction which the opposition politician says is politically motivated.
Opposed only by token candidates, Mr. Putin is widely expected to win a fourth Presidential term in the March election, making him he longest serving Russian leader since dictator Josef Stalin. Russian agencies said Navalny's campaign team will continue to seek a reversal of the ban.
Not backing down
"We will appeal today's [Saturday’s] Supreme Court ruling at the Presidium but also at Russia's Constitutional Court," Mr. Navalny's representative Ivan Zhdanov told Interfax news agency.
"In theory, Navalny still has a chance of taking part in the election, but in reality they are negligible," he added.
