Russia bars fmr journalist Duntsova from running in presidential election

Yekaterina Duntsova, a former journalist for Russian television, was disqualified from contesting against President Vladimir Putin in the country’s impending presidential election as an independent.

According to Russian television sources, Duntsova’s application, which had been submitted on December 20, was denied by Russia’s Central Electoral Commission on Saturday due to “mistakes in documents.”

According to Ella Pamfilova, the head of the commission, all of the members unanimously rejected Duntsova’s request to remain in the poll on March 17, which Putin is predicted to win handily.

Duntsova had intended to run on a platform of releasing political prisoners and putting a stop to the conflict in Ukraine.

The Kremlin says Putin will win because he enjoys genuine support across society, with opinion poll ratings of about 80 percent.

The commission said Duntsova could not go on to the next stage of gathering thousands of supporters’ signatures.

The 40-year-old sent in her candidacy documents on Wednesday, to challenge Putin, 71, who is almost certain to win a fifth term as president, allowing him to continue leading Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

Putin has been in power for 24 years, including an eight-year stint as prime minister.

Putin has so far not faced competition in the presidential campaign, with opposition leaders such as Alexey Navalny serving long prison sentences and other leading Kremlin critics either behind bars or outside of the country because of the risk of arrest.

Reports say 29 people have filed to run for the presidency.