Opposition Leader Navalny Enters Russian Presidential Election Race

Alexei Navalny, a major opposition leader in Russia with a significant chance of challenging President Vladimir Putin, has announced his readiness to run in the presidential elections scheduled for March, while his supporters across Russia rallied in support of him. According to AFP, thousands of supporters of this 41-year-old charismatic lawyer gathered on Sunday, December 24, in 20 cities across Russia to officially announce his candidacy. Meanwhile, Russian election officials state that Mr. Navalny is ineligible to run due to a criminal conviction, and that 'only a miracle' could assist him in registering for the presidential elections. Nonetheless, Alexei Navalny, who has capitalized on the wave of anger from the younger generation that has grown during Putin's presidency and is calling for change, stated on Sunday that he would not back down from his position on running. He hopes that public pressure on the Kremlin will lead Russian officials to register him as a candidate. Mr. Navalny wrote on Facebook, 'We will not allow anyone to make competition in the elections impossible.' Navalny has been imprisoned three times this year for organizing unauthorized anti-Putin protests, serving sentences of 15, 25, and 20 days. The European Ministers' Committee has urged Russian officials to allow him to run for president despite what they describe as 'arbitrary and unjust' convictions. The 65-year-old Putin has announced his candidacy for a fourth time this month, which, if he wins, would keep him in power until 2020. As a result, he would have the longest leadership tenure in Russia after Joseph Stalin in the former Soviet Union. The Itar-Tass news agency also reported that a group of Navalny's supporters gathered on Sunday in support of his candidacy. This rally took place in northwest Moscow, with an estimated 700 attendees. One of Navalny's campaign members noted that two members of the Central Election Commission were also present at the Moscow rally. According to Russian electoral law, at least 500 people must attend any rally supporting a candidate. Additionally, signatures collected in one region cannot exceed 7,500. Candidates must submit their documents to the election commission by January 7 and collect 300,000 signatures in support of their candidacy. Navalny is a Western-educated lawyer who has led a protest movement against Vladimir Putin over the years. AFP reported that early on Sunday, supporters of this opposition leader officially supported Mr. Navalny's candidacy in Vladivostok on the Pacific coast, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk in Siberia, and other cities. Despite issues such as corruption, weak healthcare, and rising poverty, polls indicate that Mr. Putin enjoys support from 80% of the Russian population and is expected to achieve an easy victory against his opponents. This month, the Russian president faced the question of why Alexei Navalny has been barred from participating in the presidential elections, and without mentioning the name of this opposition leader, he stated that opponents are seeking a 'coup' but will not succeed.