Putin Critic Alexei Navalny Banned From Russian Election

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s central election commission voted on Monday to bar opposition leader Alexei Navalny from running in a presidential election next year, saying he was ineligible because of a past criminal conviction. The commission said the conviction, for which Navalny received a suspended sentence and which he has repeatedly described as politically-motivated, meant he could not run for president in March. Twelve members of the 13-member commission voted to bar Navalny.