Putin's main opposition banned from running in March presidential election

Russian election officials have banned Putin's main opposition rival from running for president prompting calls for it to be boycotted. The Central Election Commission has decided unanimously that anti-corruption crusader Alexei Navalny is not eligible to run. He is implicitly barred from running for office because of a conviction in a fraud case which has been viewed as political retribution. He could have run if he was given a special dispensation or if his conviction was quashed. Vladimir Putin is running for a fourth term in office and is widely expected to win the March 18 election.