Russia: Ex-reporter barred from challenging Putin in 2024

Former TV journalist Yekaterina Duntsova has been barred from running in March's presidential election because of "mistakes" in her application for registration as a candidate, Russian television reported.

A video posted by a Russian news channel showed a meeting of the Central Elections Committee (CEC) where the members voted unanimously to reject Duntsova's candidacy.

Duntsova's campaign team also confirmed the rejection on its Telegram channel and showed screenshots of documents the CEC had highlighted as lacking the proper signatures.

Duntsova said she would appeal the decision in Russia's Supreme Court, describing it as "unlawful."

She appealed to leaders of the Yabloko (Apple) political party to nominate her as a candidate, as she said she would be unable to convene a second meeting of supporters. 

Duntsova, 40, would have been a challenger to President Vladimir Putin, and was planning to run on a platform of ending the war in Ukraine and freeing political prisoners.

Putin victory virtually guaranteed

With most Russian opposition figures either behind bars, like high-profile rival Alexei Navalny, or outside the country, Putin seems almost certain to win a fifth term as head of state in March, cementing a decadelong grip on power.

The CEC has said it will also hold the ballot in four Ukrainian regions partially occupied by Russian forces and in the Crimean peninsula, illegally annexed from Kyiv in 2014.

Had Duntsova's application been accepted, under Russian election law she would still have to have obtained 300,000 signatures in support of her candidacy, from all across Russia by 31 January.