Russian opposition calls for election boycott

MOSCOW

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny on Wednesday called on people to take to the streets after his presidential bid was rejected.

The Central Election Commission rejected on Monday Navalny's application to run in the March 2018 presidential elections, over claims that corruption charges and a suspended sentence disqualified him.

Navalny posted a video on YouTube and called on people to hold nationwide demonstrations on Jan. 28 in support of a boycott of the ballot.

"The only issue that concerns Kremlin is the high number of people participating in the election. So, there is no point in voting. The only remaining option is boycotting it.

"I call on all Russian people to take to the streets on Jan. 28 to support the boycott decision," Navalny said.

Navalny, 41, the founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation and chairman of Russia's opposition Progress Party, had officially applied to the Central Election Commission to challenge President Vladimir Putin, despite objections from Russian authorities due to lawsuits against him.

He had previously received multiple sentences over a number of charges including fraud and calls to attend "unauthorized" rallies.