MOSCOW, January 9. /TASS/. The statement by the EU’s External Action Service to the effect the decision to bar blogger Alexey Navalny from the March 2018 presidential election "casts doubt on political pluralism in Russia" causes surprise and has no norms of international law to rely on, Central Election Commission chief Ella Pamfilova said on Tuesday.
- Kremlin vows relevant agencies will scrutinize Navalny’s 'voter strike' calls
- Russian Foreign Ministry views US statements on Navalny as election meddling
- Navalny’s non-participation not to affect legitimacy of election — Kremlin
- Opposition blogger Navalny to appeal against ruling barring him from presidential campaign
- Russia’s electoral commission nixes Navalny’s bid for presidential run due to conviction
"One cannot but feel great surprise over the EEAS statement of December 26 regarding the decision by Russia’s Central Election Commission to refuse to register Alexey Navalny as a presidential candidate due to his previous conviction. … We are forced to say that this statement demonstrates ignorance or defiance of Russia’s election legislation, does not match the facts and has no norms of international or national legislation to rely on," Pamfilova said at the CEC’s meeting on Tuesday.