Russia's Supreme Court Dismisses Election Case Against Vladimir Putin

Russia's Supreme Court rejected a complaint filed by one of Vladimir Putin's electoral rivals in the presidential election. Ksenia Sobchak had claimed that Putin's participation in the election violated the constitution. In its ruling on Friday, the Supreme Court stated that it decided against Sobchak's request. The ruling referenced the Constitutional Court's interpretation, which stated that a president cannot participate in elections for more than two consecutive terms, but if there is a break in consecutive terms, a candidate is allowed to run. Sobchak argued in her complaint that the law implies that the president's presence is limited to two terms, and after two terms, no candidate can register for another election. During the case review in the Supreme Court, the Attorney General of Russia requested that Sobchak's claims be entirely dismissed. The Supreme Court also rejected the requests made in Sobchak's case. A representative from the Central Election Commission of Russia who was present in court requested that the case be dismissed. Dmitry Voronin, the representative, stated, 'Sobchak's request is rejected because Putin's registration for the election is legally permissible.' Sobchak clarified in her complaint, 'My case against Putin is not personal and has nothing to do with his actions. My argument is that the rotation of power is beneficial for the country. Power should be changeable even if the people say they want the officials to remain in power.' Nikolai Balayev, deputy of the Central Election Commission, also mentioned that discussions about the legitimacy of Putin's participation in elections had been raised before, but the committee's opinion is final and there are no legal issues. Ksenia Sobchak, from the Civil Initiative Party, has announced her candidacy for the Russian presidential election. Vladimir Putin, who has been in power since 1999, serving two terms as president and one term as prime minister, is a candidate in the upcoming presidential election, and if victorious, will remain in power for another six years. The Russian presidential election is set to take place in March – next month.