The Russian Central Election Commission refused on Thursday to certify the candidacy of Boris Nadezhdin for the upcoming presidential election. Nadezhdin, a member of the Civic Initiative party, has repeatedly criticized Russia's invasion of Ukraine, calling the war a "disastrous mistake."
The commission invalidated 9,147 of the signatures Nadezhdin collected, bringing him below the 100,000-signature threshold required for registration. "There are tens of millions of people standing here who were going to vote for me. I’m in second place after [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, I’m gaining double digits in the polls," Nadezhdin said, adding he will appeal the decision.
